Athletes - Stephon Marbury

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	Athletes - Stephon Marbury

Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977 in Brooklyn, New York) is a professional basketball player, currently playing point guard with the New York Knicks. Nicknamed "Starbury", he has been heralded since his teenage years as the next great New York City point guard. While still attending Abraham Lincoln High School he was one of the subjects of Darcy Frey's book "The Last Shot," which followed three seniors and Marbury, a freshman, through the early months of his first season with the school's team. He was highly touted in both high school and college as a future NBA superstar. In high school he played for the nationally recognized AAU team, the New York Gauchos, out of the Bronx. One of the premier point guards of the league, Marbury was an NBA All-Star in 2001 and 2003 and an All-NBA Third Team member in 2003. Known for his quickness, ball handling and inside scoring, he stands as only the second player in NBA history to have career averages of at least 20 points and 8 assists per game (Oscar Robertson was the first, with career averages of 25.7 points and 9.5 assists per game). However, at times he has been called a selfish player with a shoot-first, pass-second mentality, and many of the teams he has played for have not been successful.

Early career

After a successful freshman year playing for Georgia Tech, he declared his intention to jump to the NBA. Many were amazed that after a full year in college he still didn't know his school's name, calling it Georgia Tech University (the correct name is Georgia Institute of Technology). He was selected fourth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1996 NBA Draft, then traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the draft rights to Ray Allen and a future first-round pick. In his first season in the league, Marbury averaged 15.8 points and 7.8 assists per game and was named to the 1997 All-Rookie Team. He, along with Kevin Garnett, led the Timberwolves to the NBA Playoffs in 1997 and 1998. During the lockout-shortened 1999 season, Marbury was traded to the New Jersey Nets after a falling out with Timberwolves management over his contract.

New Jersey and Phoenix

After two uneventful years in New Jersey, Marbury was traded to the Phoenix Suns for fellow point guard Jason Kidd. He led the team to the playoffs in 2003, and it seemed Marbury had finally found a home as he clicked with teammates Shawn Marion and promising rookie Amare Stoudemire. However, Stoudemire injured himself in the beginning of the 2003-2004 season, and Phoenix struggled to a 3-15 start.

While a member of the Suns, Marbury was arrested for driving under the influence. A police report stated that Marbury was clocked at 75 mph in a 50 mph zone and that his speech was slurred and his breath smelled like alcohol. Marbury had a blood alcohol level of .153. He pled no contest to extreme DUI, served 10 days in jail and attended alcohol education classes. This arrest was seen as a possible motive for Marbury's trade to New York, as the team had just gotten over the incident of Jason Kidd's arrest. Phoenix eventually used the money made during the Marbury trade to re-acquire point guard Steve Nash from the Dallas Mavericks.

Coming home

Marbury, along with Penny Hardaway, was traded to the New York Knicks in January 2004. This brought Marbury full circle, as he grew up in New York and was a lifelong Knicks fan. He made an immediate impact, leading a Knicks team in transition to the playoffs on the strength of his performances.

Nonetheless, Marbury's overall tenure as New York's first option point guard has thus far been unremarkable, with the exception of the occasional headline-grabbing controversy. In an infamous rivalry-stoking moment during the 2004-2005 season prior to the Knicks' game against metropolitan rivals the New Jersey Nets, a reporter asked if Marbury felt he could compare with Jason Kidd, the Nets' superstar point guard, and notably the player for whom Marbury was previously traded. In reply, Marbury stated, "How am I comparing myself with him when I already think I'm the best point guard to play basketball. . .I'm telling you what it is. I'm the best point guard in the NBA". The comment backfired after the Knicks lost the game in question and went on to finish last in the Atlantic Division for that season.

During the 2005-2006 season Marbury continued to play relatively well even as the Knicks found it extremely difficult to win as a team under new coach Larry Brown. Despite his team's struggles, the guard found occasion to make yet another statement regarding his perceived superiority to Jason Kidd. This time, during an interview on ESPN's Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, Marbury claimed that in a playground situation, with the two players competing in front of a neutral crowd who presumably did not know them as NBA stars, "they would see who the better player was". However, at the time, such a playground battle hardly seemed relevant as Marbury's Knicks were again at the bottom of the Division and as of the latest meeting between the Knicks and Nets with both Marbury and Kidd playing, Kidd had an 8-1 wins to losses record against Marbury. A few months later, Kidd (as a guest on "Quite Frankly") would respond by saying "Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But unfortunately in a playground situation I think I would win. I'm bigger, I'm stronger, I'm faster."

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Athletes - Stephon Marbury

Early career

New Jersey and Phoenix

Coming home

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