Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli has declared for the 2025 NBA draft after playing three college seasons with the Wildcats, the Glenbrook South alum announced Wednesday evening on X.
“First and foremost, I want to thank God for blessing me with the opportunity to play the game I love every single day,” a statement from Martinelli reads. “To my family — Thank you for your unwavering love, support, and the sacrifices you’ve made throughout this journey. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.
John 8:12 pic.twitter.com/w8upaUmcoK
— Nick Martinelli (@N_Martinelli1) April 2, 2025
“To my coaches, teammates, and the entire Northwestern community — Thank you for believing in me, pushing me to grow, and helping shape me into the player and person I am today.
“With that being said, I’m excited to announce that I will be declaring for the 2025 NBA draft while maintaining my college eligibility at Northwestern to ensure I make the best decision for my future and my family.”
Under the current NBA CBA, a player can withdraw his name from consideration from the NBA draft at any time before the final declaration date, which is 10 days before the draft takes place.
Nick Martinelli Averaged Career-High Numbers During His Junior Year At Northwestern
In 87 career NCAA games (44 starts) at Northwestern, Martinelli averaged 11.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 26.8 minutes per contest while shooting 47.9% from the floor, 32.2% from 3-point range, and 72.8% at the foul line.
During his sophomore year, Martinelli averaged 8.8 points, 4.3 boards, and 1.1 dimes per game in 34 contests (11 starts). He recorded a then-career-high 27 points in a game at Maryland on Feb. 28, 2024.
“We had a really good team,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said. “Ty Berry goes down and he becomes a starter the last ten games, ends up being a 13-a-game scorer and has a moment at Maryland where I think he got 27 and it kind of clicked with him like, ‘Oh man, I think I can do this at this level.’”
Then in 33 games (all starts) of his junior season, Martinelli averaged career highs of 20.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 37.6 minutes per contest while shooting 47.1% from the field and 33.3% from deep.
#66, Nick Martinelli
📺 @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/iPj1f2T4QS
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) March 13, 2025
In Northwestern’s 71-66 loss at Dayton on Nov. 9, 2024, he posted a career-high 32 points on 12-of-16 (75%) shooting from the floor and drained three 3-pointers.
Martinelli earned a second-team All-Big Ten selection as the conference’s leading scorer. He finished ninth in offensive rebounds (78), second in minutes played (1,242), and second in usage percentage (29%).
He also set Northwestern’s single-season scoring record with 22 points in the school’s second-round loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament and became the first Wildcat to average more than 20 points per game since John Shurna in 2011-12.
Northwestern has only one first-round draft pick in program history, and that lone player was guard Rex Walters, who was selected 16th overall by the New Jersey Nets in 1993.
