Max Friedman is one half of the "Heavenly Twins," the title bestowed upon him and New York Whirlwinds playing partner Barney Sedran (also an IJSHOF honoree). While some consider the Whirlwinds, featuring the "Twins" and Nat Holman, one of the greatest professional basketball teams of all time, few will disagree that they were the most dominant team of the early twenties. Friedman was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in April 1972.

Although his high school, Hebrew Technical Institute, had no basketball team, the 5’7”Friedman played amateur hoops with the University Settlement House AAU team from 1906 to 1908. The Settlement team captured three consecutive New York Metropolitan AAU championships in the 115-pound division. Thereafter, he played professional ball.

‘Bulking up’ to 128 pounds, Friedman developed into a defensive star during the early days of pro basketball. Like several of the other top players of the era, he played for a seemingly infinite number of pro teams in (U.S.) east coast leagues, occasionally with more than one team at the same time, and often with his backcourt compadre Barney Sedran.

Among the rosters that featured Marty Friedman: the New York Roosevelts 1908-09 (Independent League), Newburgh Tenths 1909-10, 1911-12 (Hudson River Valley League), Hudson Company F 1910-11 (New York League), Utica Utes 1912-15 (New York), Carbondale 1914-15 (Pennsylvania Inter-County League), Philadelphia Jaspers 1915-17, 1922-23 (Eastern League), Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers 1915-16 (Interstate League), New York Whirlwinds 1920-21 (Independent), Passaic City Athletic Association 1919-20 (Interstate), Turners Falls Athletics 1919-20 (Interstate), Trenton 1920-21 (Pennsylvania), New York Giants 1921-23 (Eastern), Brooklyn Dodgers 1921-23 (Metropolitan League), Easthampton Hampers 1920-22 (Interstate), Albany Senators 1919-23 (New York), Bridgeport Blue Ribbons 1920-21 (Connecticut League), Mohawk Indians 1921-22 (New York), Gloversville Wonder Wonkers 1923-24 (New York), and the Cleveland Rosenblums 1925-27 (American Basketball League). Friedman was player-coach of the Rosenblums in his two final seasons as a player, and closed-out his career coaching the ABL’s Troy Haymakers 1938-39.. He was an league all-star most seasons he played, and his teams were nearly always champions of their respective leagues.

Marty Friedman played a role in pioneering basketball internationally during his World War I tenure with the U.S. Air Corps. When the conflict ended, Friedman helped organize an athletic program for expeditionary troops that remained in Europe. In 1919, Friedman organized a 600 team basketball tournament in Paris for the Inter-Allied Games (which his American team won). This massive expression of basketball interest amongst the French, Italians, and other Europeans allies paved the way for the World Championships of basketball and eventual Olympic recognition the sport (in 1936).