Martell Webster is a former American professional basketball player who played 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association. The sixth player taken in the 2005 NBA draft, Webster played for Portland, Minnesota and Washington between 2005 and 2015. His best season came in 2012–13 when he started 62 games for the Wizards and averaged 11.4 points per game.
High school career
Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Webster was listed as the No. 4 shooting guard and the No. 5 player in the nation in 2005. He had made a commitment to the University of Washington, but opted to go prep-to-pro.
Webster was selected by the Blazers with the sixth pick in the 2005 NBA draft after the Blazers' traded their third pick to the Utah Jazz just hours before the draft. He was assigned to the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League by the Blazers in January 2006, and in doing so became highest-drafted player to be assigned to the D-League until Hasheem Thabeet. He later returned to the Portland Trail Blazers in February 2006. He scored a season-high 26 points in a January 5, 2008 win over the Utah Jazz, with 24 of them scored in the third quarter. He is one of the last ever high school players to be chosen in an NBA draft due to new draft eligibility rules introduced in 2006. In October 2008, Webster signed a four-year, $20 million contract extension. On February 20, 2009, it was announced by Trail Blazers athletic trainer Jay Jensen that Webster would likely miss the rest of the 2008–09 NBA season with a left foot injury, having only played 5 minutes during the season. On January 23, 2010, he scored a season-high 28 points in a win against the Detroit Pistons.
Minnesota Timberwolves (2010–2012)
Webster was traded on June 24, 2010 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Ryan Gomes and the rights to draft pickLuke Babbitt. Webster underwent back surgery in October 2010 and missed nearly half the 2010–11 NBA season, leading Timberwolves General Manager David Kahn to charge the Trail Blazers with failure to adequately disclose a known injury. Another back surgery followed in September 2011, limiting Webster to just 47 games for the Wolves in the 2011–12 season. In spring 2013 Kahn's complaint was reportedly settled by the Blazers for $1.5 million just before the matter was brought to a formal hearing before the NBA. It was said to be among the largest cash settlements in such a case. Both teams were sworn to secrecy about the exact terms of the deal, according to basketball journalist Henry Abbott of ESPN. On July 13, 2012, Webster was waived by the Timberwolves.
He signed with the Washington Wizards on August 29, 2012, on a one-year, $1.6 million contract. On March 16, 2013, Webster scored a career-high 34 points in a win over the Phoenix Suns, also tying another career-high with seven three-pointers. On July 10, 2013, Webster re-signed with the Wizards. In 2014–15, Webster missed the first 30 games of the season after he underwent surgery in June 2014 to repair a herniated disk in his lower back. He was ruled out for three to five months, as he returned to action on December 30, 2014 against the Dallas Mavericks. On November 20, 2015, Webster was ruled out for the 2015–16 season after undergoing successful surgery to repair the labrum and damaged cartilage in his right hip. He was subsequently waived by the Wizards ten days later.
Retirement
On September 25, 2017, Webster was added to the New Orleans Pelicans' training camp roster. However, five days later, Webster decided to leave training camp and retire from basketball.
