Some will make fun of Stephon Marbury’s trek across the globe in pursuit of continuing what was once a stellar basketball career here in the United States.
Most of those people can’t even begin to understand just how successful Marbury, a two-time NBA All-Star, has been in China.
The former No. 4 overall pick of the Milwaukee Bucks (traded to Minnesota on draft day in 1996) just earned his third Chinese Basketball Association championship in four seasons.
He put up 24 points and seven assists as the Beijing Ducks defeated the Liaoning Flying Leopards for the team’s second consecutive CBA title and third in four seasons. That performance was good enough for Marbury to earn the MVP award.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fnxjPfubE4
It’s been seven-plus years since “Starbury” suited up for an NBA team, and nearly a decade since he was even a star-caliber player here.
However, Marbury’s legend continues to grow in China.
At one point during his career in China, Marbury starred in a play focusing on his life and actually had a statue of himself erected outside of Beijing’s Wukesong Stadium.
Outside of his star power in China, it appears that the 38-year-old Marbury has found a way to enjoy the game of basketball after bombing out here in the United States.
He grew emotional after leading Beijing to the championship last March, but it appears this year’s title was even more thrilling for the former NBA star.
I said we wanted to build a dynasty here in Beijing,” the former NBA star said after his team’s series-clinching win. “A lot of people said that I was crazy for saying that, but I believed in my teammates, I believed in Coach Min, I believed in the Beijing organization. We’ve done everything in our power to make this work. To be able to be in this light right now, I’m just thankful and I’m just humble.
Marbury sure has come a long way from this:
Stephon Marbury got ejected and "locked up" after a fight in a Chinese league game: pic.twitter.com/Q3Mf1pDxhx
— Alexander Chernykh (@chernykh) February 6, 2014
Good for the former NBA star. Despite his issues here in the states, it’s nice to see that Marbury has salvaged what apparently seems to be a successful career overseas.