Marbury ready to call it quits
Former NBA star Stephon Marbury isn’t ready to officially retire from basketball, but he’s reportedly at peace with his professional career ending when the China Basketball Association’s regular season wraps up on Feb 11.
Marbury, who plays for the CBA’s
Beijing Fly Dragons, told ESPN’s
The Unde- feated he plans to return to his offseason home in Los Angeles after his finale in China. The Fly Dragons won’t be playing in the postseason.
“I’m tired, man. I’m tired,” Marbury said. “I played 22 years ... It’s all good. I’m straight with how it is right now. I like being able to have control over going out the way I want to go out. I’m 100 percent at peace with it. One hundred percent.”
Marbury, who will turn 41 later this month, added that he intends to stay in shape “just in case” an NBA team calls this season.
Marbury last played in the NBA with the Boston Celtics in 2008-09. For his NBA career, the two-time All-Star averaged 19.3 points and 7.6 assists across 13 seasons spent between the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Celtics.
Marbury continued his career in China, where he became a legend for the Beijing Ducks. He won three CBA titles in six seasons with the Ducks and was the 2015 CBA Finals MVP. The Ducks honored him with a statue in 2012 outside their arena.
For his efforts in expanding the game to China, as well as his accomplishments throughout his entire career, Marbury told The Undefeated he believes he’s worthy of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“My numbers are Hall of Fame. That’s first,” Marbury said. “You look at guys who have never won championships on the globe, they are in the Hall of Fame. Two, what I have done to help basketball globally to bridge the gap from America to China, with China being one of the main components on the Earth for basketball, that right there alone should bridge that gap.
“It’s the Basketball Hall of Fame, not the NBA Hall of Fame. So, for basketball, I played in Olympics, I played in the Junior Olympics. With what I’ve done and given to basketball is all Hall of Fame.”