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Nick Martinelli talks his Northwestern career and the Big Ten Tournament
Nick Martinelli will end his storied Northwestern career soon, but he wants to play as long as he can. Martinelli talks about his NU career with Cassie Carlson.
Northwestern basketball has now had a player selected in consecutive NBA Drafts.
Nick Martinelli, a mainstay of the Chris Collins program that went to two-straight NCAA Tournaments, was selected in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Big picture view:
The Los Angeles Clippers selected Martinelli with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The New York Knicks originally owned this pick, but traded it to Houston. The Rockets then traded that selection to the Clippers.
Martinelli had worked out in the pre-draft process for the Golden State Warriors.
Northwestern basketball: The legacy Wildcats 4-year star Nick Martinelli leaves behind
Nick Martinelli ended his Wildcats career with 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a hug. What’s now left is what Martinelli leaves behind, which could reverberate for years in Evanston.
Local perspective:
Martinelli averaged 23.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game his senior season.
He shot 41 percent from 3-point range. That's not his strong suit, but he excelled in shooting anyway.
Martinelli, a Glenview, Illinois, native, starred at Glenbrook South. He scored 1,331 points in his high school career and earned 2022 Associated Press Class 4A First-Team All-State honors.
His career at Northwestern was highlighted by his ability to score in unorthodox ways, but his senior year was consistently highlighted by the fact he stayed at Northwestern instead of transferring to another program for more NIL money.
"For these young guys that are coming in, hopefully every person that played with me, they just look at a guy that worked relentlessly," Martinelli said. "That's all you can do, that's all you can control is work as hard as you possibly can and listen to the coaches."
Martinelli broke the Northwestern single-season scoring record twice. Once in 2024-2025 and again in 2025-2026.
Martinelli is also the only player in Big Ten history to score at least 20 points against all 18 of the conference's member schools.
"I'll be his biggest fan forever," NU head coach Chris Collins said. "I'm just sad I won't have a chance to coach him anymore."
He'll take his talents to the Clippers organization, where he'll try and earn a spot in Los Angeles through the NBA Summer League and training camp.