No shortcuts: How young alum Martone Cole built his path to the NBA

For Martone Cole ’22, MBA ’23, the path from Heidelberg to the NBA has been a winding one, but definitely not long. Every stop along the way has helped prepare him for the next.

The Detroit native, who majored in communications at Heidelberg and played men’s basketball, always knew he wanted to stay close to the sport he had loved since he was 3 years old.

What he didn’t necessarily know was how quickly that dream would become a reality.

Today, Martone lives in New York City and works as Associate Manager of League Operations Communications for the NBA, a role he began in January. From coordinating international media opportunities to helping bring major league events to life, he now works behind the scenes in one of the biggest sports organizations in the world.

And every once in a while, he has to remind himself how far he has come in such a short time.

“I absolutely envisioned myself working in professional sports, but honestly I didn’t fully grasp that I could potentially get to this level as fast as I did,” Martone said.

“Even after being in this position for nine months, I still have a lot of moments where I have to take a pause and remember that I was able to make it to this point.”

Finding his lane at The Berg

At Heidelberg, Martone found a place where he could pursue both sides of his life: basketball and his emerging professional interests.

He majored in communications, played for the Student Princes and wrote for The Kilikilik, gaining experiences that helped him begin to connect his love of sports with a career in  communications and public relations.

“Before arriving at Heidelberg, I’d say I wanted to work in sports communications without fully grasping everything that communications entailed from a career standpoint,” he said.

Several Heidelberg faculty members helped him find that direction. Dr. Julie O’Reilly’s communications and public relations courses gave Martone tools he continues to use, while Dr. Robin Heaton helped him think about what might come after Heidelberg. Dr. David Hogan, meanwhile, helped him develop the people skills that have become an important part of his work.

Martone also credits his experience as a student-athlete with teaching him lessons that extend well beyond the basketball court.
Balancing academics and athletics taught him discipline, time management and accountability. More importantly, he said, Heidelberg gave him opportunities to take initiative, step outside his comfort zone and develop confidence.

“Being a student-athlete at Heidelberg was foundational for me,” Martone said

Building the next step

After earning his MBA from Heidelberg, Cole knew the next step was to continue building experience at the Division I level. He landed a Sports Media Relations Graduate Assistant position at Western Kentucky University, where he also earned a master’s degree in Sports Administration. His work there — including serving as the secondary Sports Information Director for men’s basketball and helping coordinate Media Day — gave him confidence that he could pursue a career at a higher level.
From Western Kentucky, Martone moved to the NBA — first joining the Minnesota Timberwolves as a Basketball Communications Associate.

Then came the opportunity he had been working toward.

After the Timberwolves reached the Western Conference Finals, Martone interviewed for a position with the NBA League Office. The interview process lasted about three months. When he got the call that he had been selected, he packed up and headed to New York.

“The journey was definitely a winding road — and involved a lot of apartment leases,” he joked.

Where storytelling meets the game

Martone’s attraction to sports communications is rooted in storytelling. He knew he wanted to work in sports, but didn’t necessarily see himself as a traditional journalist. Public relations offered something different: the opportunity to remain close to the game while working with players, teams, executives and journalists. “Combine that with my affinity for storytelling on and off the court and it was a perfect match for me,” he said.

His work with the NBA can look different day to day. A typical morning begins with a 9:30 meeting, but after that, his schedule can depend on the season, travel, events and what's happening across the league.

During the preseason, for example, he has coordinated team training camp visits with SiriusXM Radio and worked with international reporters seeking access to teams. He has also helped coordinate international media availabilities involving the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers, arranged an interview between seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry and a French magazine, and worked behind the scenes at NBA All-Star Weekend, the NBA Draft, NBA Finals, Draft Combine and Summer League.

Today, one of the most rewarding parts of Martone’s job is seeing how many different pieces of the league come together through communications.

“Communications works with facilities, broadcasting, partnerships, and social/digital content all for the production of this event,” he said. “That’s actually part of the magic of working in communications to me because you kind of play the role of the glue to tie everything together.

A Finals moment — and a hallway conversation

Martone’s first NBA Finals Media Day stands out as one of his most memorable experiences. But perhaps the moment that made the magnitude of his new career sink in came during a much quieter moment.

During the Finals, Martone escorted New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson through his daily media availability. While waiting for a press conference room to clear, the two struck up a casual conversation about the reality show Love Island.

“If you had told me six years ago that I’d one day be talking to the Finals MVP about a reality show, I would have thought you were crazy,” Martone said.

It was an ordinary conversation in an extraordinary setting — and a reminder of how far a Heidelberg student who loved basketball had traveled.

The Opportunity Maker mindset

Despite the bright lights of New York and the scale of his new career, Martone says his Heidelberg experience continues to keep him grounded. The close-knit community he experienced on campus remains one of the things he values most. And the university’s Opportunity Maker mindset has stayed with him.

“It reminded me not only to capitalize on the open doors in my own career, but to create opportunities for the people coming up behind me,” he said.

He also sees the value of his liberal arts education in the work he does today. Heidelberg taught him to process information, communicate effectively, build relationships and look at problems from multiple perspectives — skills he now uses while navigating the personalities, challenges and moving parts of the NBA.

Martone isn’t sure exactly where his career will take him next. For now, he’s focused on learning as much as he can.

“I think I made it to this point a lot quicker than I anticipated,” he said. “Right now my main focus is continuing to be a sponge and soak in as much as I can daily.”

Someday, he says, it would be “extremely cool” to run a team’s public relations department.

For the Heidelberg student who once dreamed simply of staying close to the game, that next dream suddenly doesn’t seem so far away.

And if Martone has learned anything on his journey so far, it’s that there are no shortcuts.

What advice would he have for students who hope to follow a similar path? “Build the necessary relationships. You truly never know where they can take you.”

And, perhaps most importantly: “Don’t skip steps.”