Marty Blake, who spent more than 35 years as the NBA's director of scouting, passed away on Sunday. He became the General Manager of the Hawks at age 27 where he drafted Pete Maravich and Lenny Wilkens, among others, and then eventually impacted the game through his scouting of talent. He established the NBA pre-draft camp in 1982 and is credited with finding such talent as Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and John Stockton through the Portsmouth Invitational. Blake was a 2005 recipient of the Hall of Fame's John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors coaches, players and contributors whose outstanding accomplishments have impacted the game of basketball.
"The Basketball Hall of Fame was sad to hear of the passing of Marty Blake, longtime scouting director for the NBA and one of the most passionate people in the game of basketball," said John. L Doleva, President & CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. "Marty dedicated most of his life to helping and identifying talented players, giving hundreds if not thousands the opportunity to reach their dream of playing in the NBA."
