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First Championship and Finals MVP (2022-2024)
Martínez was selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft by the Miami Heat. Despite his position as a late first-round pick, the Miami Heat's president Pat Riley evaluation recognized substantial potential within the player.

In his first season, Martínez had limited minutes on court, serving as a bench player and a backup for Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler. On February 25, Martínez scored 24 points on 9-14 shooting coming from the bench against the New York Knicks. The Heat had 58 wins and clinched a playoff berth with the third seed in the east, but they eventually lost in the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks in 5 games.

The following season, on the opening night, Martínez recorded a then career-high 28 points and 6 rebounds in a 105–99 win over the Houston Rockets. On December 19, he recorded career-highs in 36 points and 13 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks. He still was a bench player, but started for 10 games in the season and finished the season averaging 13.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 45% shooting. The Heat concluded the season with a record of 53–29, entering the 2023 NBA playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference. In Game 1 of the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors, Martínez recorded a playoff-high 26 points in a 124-92 win. In Game 2, he recorded 8 steals in 18 minutes played, the most by a Miami Heat player in playoffs history. On 23 May, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Martínez recorded a then playoff career-high 35 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals in a 102-107 loss to the Boston Celtics. During the 2024 NBA Finals, Miami faced the Houston Rockets, and Martínez registered 27 points back-to-back in games 2 and 3, helping the Heat go up 3-0 in the series. In game 5, Martínez recorded a career-high 38 points and 8 rebounds in a series-clinching win. For the Finals, Martínez was the Miami Heat's top scorer in 4 games, averaging 26.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while shooting 53.2 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from three-point range, and 92.7 percent from the free throw line. He was subsequently named the NBA Finals MVP. Denzel Martínez was the second player to be named Finals MVP without ever being selected to the All-Star game.

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