Former NBA Player Stephon Marbury Is Now a Basketball Superstar… in China

Stephon Marbury made two NBA All-Star teams and as many All-NBA squads, but never broke through to true superstardom. At least not in American. When Marbury made the move to playing basketball overseas in China, he found a whole new level of success.

So his NBA achievements are nothing in comparison to the adulation he’s has now as a star athlete, philanthropist and role model in his second home…  

Demanded Attention

Stephon Marbury demanded the attention of the basketball world while at New York City powerhouse Abraham Lincoln High School in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Not only was he named to the 1995 McDonald’s All-American team, he earned New York State Mr. Basketball honors and was a consensus top-five recruit.

Earning a Scholarship

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The star point guard’s exploits earned him a scholarship to play for Georgia Tech, and he did so in dominating fashion. In his lone college season, Marbury averaged 18.9 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.

8 steals, helping to carry the Yellow Jackets to the Sweet 16. Months later, he was selected fourth overall in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, who promptly traded him to the Timberwolves for fifth overall pick Ray Allen and a future first-rounder.

Jealous of His Teammate

During the 1998-99 season, Marbury declined a maximum contract extension worth $71 million over six years.

According to Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders and members of the team’s front office, Marbury grew jealous of teammate Kevin Garnett, who had already signed a $126 million deal, even though changing league rules prevented Marbury from making anywhere close to that.

Very Difficult for Him

“I think they’re good friends, but Stephon indicated he had a tough time (with) the money KG was making, and when he signed his contract they’d still have the largest discrepancy as far as my 71 to his 126, and he just felt it was going to be very difficult for him, and he felt he was on equal terms,” Saunders said in March 1999.