Skip to content
Sixers
Link copied to clipboard

Kenyon Martin Sr. goes off on Lakers rookie Quincy Olivari over college rivalries

Sixers forward KJ Martin’s dad beefed with Xavier’s Olivari, who dealt another loss to the former Cincy star.

Lakers rookie Quincy Olivari got emotional talking about meeting his childhood idol Stephen Curry.
Lakers rookie Quincy Olivari got emotional talking about meeting his childhood idol Stephen Curry.Read moreJeff Chiu / AP

Lakers guard Quincy Olivari had everyone in tears after a wholesome moment with 10-time All-Star Stephen Curry following a preseason game on Friday. Everyone except Kenyon Martin Sr., the father of Sixers forward KJ Martin.

Following the Lakers-Warriors game, the undrafted rookie — who played five years of college basketball between Rice and Xavier — got emotional talking about meeting his childhood idol Curry. The 23-year-old Olivari shared the influence Curry had on his life.

“Man, it’s crazy because I’ve liked him since I was in sixth grade,” Olivari said. “It was, I don’t even know what to say, man, because that’s my favorite player ever. And the first thing he told me was, I’m a big fan of your game. And truth be told, I’m a big fan of him. I had his jersey. He signed it twice. I used to sleep under that jersey. I just wanted to be like him so bad.”

But Martin wasn’t a fan of the news conference. The former NBA player criticized the video of Olivari on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast Gil’s Arena.

“Why the [expletive] you crying, dawg?” Martin said. “You ain’t win nothing, lose nothing.”

After finding out Olivari went to Rice and Xavier, Martin added “Hold on. That’s why the [expletive] he’s soft as [expletive]. He went to Xavier. ... That’s why he’s crying. I don’t give a [expletive], he went to Xavier. [Expletive] him.”

Martin, a former star at the University of Cincinnati and the No. 1 overall pick of the 2000 NBA draft, didn’t hold back against last season’s leading scorer for his college rival Xavier.

The Cincinnati-Xavier rivalry is fueled by the close proximity of the schools, which are less than three miles apart. The Musketeers and Bearcats host a famous rivalry game every year known as the Crosstown Shootout.

So of course, Olivari and the official Xavier men’s basketball Twitter account got into their own version of a Crosstown Shootout with Martin — responding with tweets that reminded Martin of his 1-4 record against the Musketeers.

Looks like Martin may have taken another loss against Xavier.