Hoop dreams
In career finale, Marbury scores 20 for Fly Dragons
It’s time to say goodbye to two-time NBA All-Star and three-time CBA champion Stephon Marbury.
The final bow of Marbury’s 22-year career came with a 20-point performance for the struggling Beijing Beikong Fly Dragons in Sunday’s 104-92 victory over Jiangsu Dragons Kentier in Beijing.
“The end looks beautiful,” a tearful Marbury said when he officially announced his retirement after the game. “The next chapter is exciting. All the hard work is worth it.
“I’m so happy to end this here, so you can give me your last cheer. My basketball career in China completes me. This is it. No NBA. No anywhere. This is the way it was supposed to end, with you and only you.”
Among all the NBA stars who have showcased their skills in the CBA, Marbury, who turns 41 on Feb 20, is considered the greatest.
He left the NBA for the Shanxi Brave Dragons in 2010, and a year later joined the Foshan Dralions (now the Guangzhou Long-Lions) before launching a seven-year stint with the Beijing Ducks, from 2011-17.
He led the Ducks to three CBA championships in six seasons (2012, 2014 and 2015) and was named the CBA Foreign MVP in 2013 and CBA Finals MVP in 2015.
“People don’t know how hard it is to play in China,” Marbury said. “They think it’s easy for the foreign players, but it’s really not. It’s really difficult. You can ask guys like JR (Smith) and Tracy (McGrady) how difficult it was.
“It’s not just so much about your ability to score; it’s about being able to try to win. I accomplished so much in doing something where basketball has taken off, heightened to a whole other level. And I had something to do with it.”
Marbury left the Ducks at the end of last season to join crosstown rivals the Fly Dragons, but failed to lead them to the playoffs. He thanked the Fly Dragons for signing him at the age of 40.
“I’m so thankful to Beikong for allowing me to play my last season in Beijing; at the end you gave me my final wish. I wanted to play basketball at 40 years old in China and it happened. Thank you!”
Bold declaration
Before the 2011-12 season, Marbury declared his aim to bring a championship to the Beijing Ducks.
The Ducks opened the season with a 13–0 run and, spurred by Marbury, advanced to their first CBA Finals, facing the seven-time champion Guangdong Southern Tigers.
After the Ducks won the title in May 2012, a statue of Marbury was unveiled on the lawn of Beijing’s Wukesong Arena, originally the 2008 Olympic basketball venue.
Winning three championships made Marbury a household name in China. Moreover, the Brooklyn native was named by the Beijing government as its 30th honorary citizen in 2014, joining notable figures like former president of International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge.
Marbury was named one of the capital’s Top 10 Model Citizens that year.
In 2016, he became a permanent Chinese resident as he received the Foreigner’s Permanent Residence Card.
Marbury even starred in his own biopic in 2017, My Other
Home, or known by its Chinese name, I Am Marbury. It chronicles his redemption in the wake of an ignominious exit from the NBA by leading the Ducks to their first championship.
With all the love in China, Marbury said he would like to work for the development of Chinese basketball.
“I will be here forever, so I have time to first help the youth,” he said.
“I want to add to China’s basketball foundation. I understand the culture and work ethic because I’m a part of it. I’m teaching the next generation of what’s most important for me, not just coaching.”
He has said he would be happy to work for the Chinese national basketball team if invited.
Last to retire
The 1996 NBA Draft is widely considered to be one of the deepest ever, with one-third of the first-round picks later becoming All-Stars. Marbury is one of the best of the 1996 class — and the last one to retire.
The draft class produced three players who went on to win NBA MVP awards (Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash), seven other drafted players who became All-Stars and one undrafted All-Star (Ben Wallace).
Marbury spent 13 years in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. He averaged 19.3 points and 7.6 assists per game, earning two All-Star selections.
Speaking of his NBA career, Marbury believed it was a great preparation.
“It was a stepping stone,” he said. “The NBA was great preparation for me to do something some place else.
“All of the knowledge, all that I gained, all that I was able to do to learn from playing in the NBA allowed me to come some place else and to inject that and give that type of energy to a culture of basketball that needed that.
“Chinese basketball needed that type of view to be able to understand and see exactly how things happened with someone who was committed to the basketball community here.
“My mom always said, ‘It’s always good, Stephon, to go where you are loved. If they love you, that is where you should be at.’
“How could I not go where I am loved? China played a different kind of part in my life. I feel like I am indebted and obligated.”