Stephon Marbury

Stephon Marbury, nicknamed “Starbury”, is an American former basketball player and is now a professional coach. He is currently the head coach of the Chinese team Beijing Royal Fighters of the CBA or Chinese Basketball Association.

He is the sixth child out of seven children, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, in a neighborhood somewhere in Coney Island.

High School Career

During high school, he was the star player at Abraham Lincoln High School, an NYC powerhouse. In his senior year, they named him the New York State Mr. Basketball for his average of 27.4 points, 8.3 assists, and three steals for every game. He also played for New York Gauchos, a famous AAU team.

College Career

In 1995, he was named a McDonald’s All-American along with Kevin Garnett, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Paul Pierce, and Antawn Jamison, future NBA All-Stars. During that year, he was also a top recruit and pursued persistently by Bobby Cremins, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coach, and Marbury committed to him eventually.

Marbury became the starting point guard at Georgia Tech after Travis Best left, where he was teammates with future NBA players Drew Barry and Matt Harping. He took Georgia Tech to the [NCAA][1] tournament’s Regional Semi-Final game with a 24-12 record. However, the team eventually lost 87-70 to Cincinnati. The Associated Press named him the Third Team All American, plus a few conference honors, averaging 18.9 ppg and 4.5 assists.

Professional Career

During the 1996 NBA draft, he was chosen by Milwaukee Bucks in the 1st round. He was the fourth overall pick but was eventually traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Ray Allen. He has an average of 15.8 points and 7.8 assists for every game during his first season. In 1997, he was named All-Rookie Team. He played for the Timberwolves from 1996 to 1999.

Marbury was traded in 1999 to the New Jersey Nets, where he became an All-Star. In 2000, he became the All-NBA Third Team and was the reserve for the All-Star Game in 2001. He was an outstanding player with many individual accolades, but his team never made it into playoffs during his time with the Nets until 2001.

On January 5, 2004, Marbury was traded along with Cezary Trybański and Penny Hardaway to the New York Knicks. He played for the U.S. team, composed of NBA players, during the 2004 Athens Olympics, although they didn’t win the gold medal. Marbury’s time with the Knicks was laden with many losses, public feuds with two different coaches, and numerous disagreements until he and the Knicks eventually agreed to a buyout.

Marbury then became a free agent in 2009, ultimately signing with Boston Celtics on February 27. He was initially offered a one-year contract for the 2009-10 season but disagreed with the deal. Later on, Marbury announced a year-long break from basketball.

In January 2010, Marbury announced he moved on to the Chinese Basketball Association and entered a deal with the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons. The team didn’t make it into the playoffs, but he averaged 22.9 points, 9.5 assists, and 2.6 steals in all 15 games. Although he signed a three-year deal with the team, Marbury eventually left in December 2010.

Marbury’s next team is Foshan Dralions, joining them in December 2010. The team also played in the 2011 CBA All-star match but didn’t make the playoffs. Next, he signed with the Beijing Ducks for the 2011-2012 season, winning the championship with them. He was with the Beijing Ducks from 2011 to 2017.

He won a second CBA championship in 2014 and a third CBA championship in 2015 with the Beijing Ducks. Marbury also earned an official CBA Finals MVP award. However, he officially announced his retirement after the 2017-2018 CBA season and parted with the Ducks on April 24, 2017. Marbury played his last game in the CBA with the Beijing Flying Dragons in 2018.

Coaching Career

Marbury started his coaching career on June 24, 2019. He became the head coach of the CBA team, Beijing Royal Fighters.

Career Highlights and Awards

• 1994, 1995 - Parade All-American

First Team, 2x

• 1995 - McDonald’s All American
• 1995 - Mr. New York Basketball
• 1996 - All-American—A.P. Third Team,

NABC

• 1996 - All-ACC First Team
• 1996 - ACC Rookie of the Year
• 1997 - NBA All-Rookie First Team
• 2000, 2003 - All-NBA Third Team, 2x
• 2001, 2003 - NBA All-Star, 2x
• 2010 - CBA All-Star Game MVP
• 2010-2015, 2017 - CBA All-Star, 6x
• 2012, 2014, 2015 - CBA Champion, 3x
• 2013 - CBA Foreign MVP
• 2015 - CBA Finals MVP

Olympics

2004 - Athens Olympics, Bronze

Coaching

2019 to Present - Beijing Royal Fighters

[1]: https://www.sportspundit.com/basketball/terms/1724-ncaa