Caleb Martin serving as major inspiration for potential 1st-rounder in 2024 NBA Draft

The Miami Heat’s 2023-24 NBA season has already come to an end, but wing Caleb Martin is still helping to inspire one exciting draft prospect in the 2024 NBA draft class.

Jaylon Tyson out of the University of California, Berkeley is seen as a possible first-round pick. He recently spoke with HoopsHype about what he will bring to an NBA team once he enters the league’s rank.

“I’d describe my game as a three-level scorer and a two-way player who can rebound,” Tyson told HoopsHype at the NBA Draft Combine. “I feel like it’s hard to guard me because I have so many aspects of my game that if you take one aspect away, I’ll go to another. I can make my teammates around me better. That’s the thing that separates me, in my opinion. If you try to double-team me, I can get out of those situations and make my teammates better.”

He added that he’s already heard a lot of comparisons made between himself and Martin, adding that he’s been watching film on the Heat impact player leading up to the draft.

“I’ve heard a lot of comparisons to Caleb Martin,” Tyson said. “That’s the biggest one that’s come up. I want to grow into that type of player. I’m not him right now. That’s the player I’ve been focusing and watching film on.”

While Tyson is seen as a potential first-round pick, Martin entered the NBA through different means. He went undrafted and had to rise up through the NBA’s G League. He is just one of the undrafted players to become a true impact guy on the Heat in recent years.

In the 2023-24 regular season, Martin appeared in 64 games for the Heat and started 23 of those contests. In those 64 appearances, he posted averages of 10.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

In the playoffs, he had a massive game in the Heat’s lone playoff win against the Boston Celtics. In Game 2 of that series, Martin put up 21 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc.

As for Tyson, he certainly had an impressive year at the collegiate level in the 2023-24 season. He scored 19.6 points per game and added 6.8 boards and 3.5 assists per game.

Interestingly, HoopsHype’s aggregate mock draft has Tyson going to Boston to join the Celtics. If that ends up being the case, it is quite possible that Tyson and Martin could face off against one another in the playoffs in the near future.

If that comes to pass, Tyson will surely benefit from all the film he’s watched on the Heat’s 28-year-old forward.