Double NBA All-Star and true legend in China where he has a statue in his likeness and where he has crossed the other side of the barrier, in coaching since 2019, Stephon Marbury is obviously part of the latest documentary produced by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman on the New York point guards.
Mr. New York Basketball in 1995, he was considered a prodigy from a very young age, coming from a family well anchored in the basketball scene in Coney Island. A pure product of New York bitumen.
God Shammgod, le camarade
“I dribbled on the stones when I was a kid”, recalls Stephon Marbury in Ryen Russillo’s podcast at The Ringer. “That’s how I learned to control my dribbling. I was not a dribbler like Shammgod, like Kyrie or Steph Curry. As I was from New York, I was often asked to do little dribbling tricks and, each time, I did something rotten and they were disappointed: ‘But you’re not from New York! ‘ And yet, if [rires]. »
Not fond of charms, Stephon Marbury forgets however that he was in his time a hell of a dribbler. Certainly not in finesse like an Allen Iverson whom he considers to be one of the very best in history, especially for his size, Stephon Marbury also had a hell of a first step and a jump to frustrate more than one pivot blocker.
But, when it comes to talking about the essence of the New York dribbler, he turns to God Shammgod.
Shammgod Wells as he calls him, from the maternal name adopted by God Shammgod, mocked because of his surname. Because the two kids grew up together in New York, six months apart in age.
“There’s Shammgod Wells, who had such a unique crossover that everyone tried to imitate him, me included. I remember begging him to teach me how to do it. We were at Five Stars Camp and the ground there is all dusty and quite slippery. But he was doing his crossover despite the gravel and it made an incredible noise, I still remember it to this day. I asked him to do it again and again, this move was so mean! Him and I, we played a lot together, or face to face. But, now, he has a move in his name, known worldwide. That’s crazy ! »
Rod Strickland, The Godfather
Also mentioned in the documentary, how could it have been otherwise, Rod Strickland is also one of Stephon Marbury’s role models.
“He was the hardest point guard for me to hold! It’s always like you’re there [bien placé défensivement], but in fact, you are not there! And he scores or makes the decisive pass. You think you’re going to kick the ball out of his hands but he’s already gone! He was big and strong. He also moved in all directions, without a straight line and changing rhythm. And he knew how to finish in the circle! He was unpredictable in his finishes too: jump shot, tear drop or spoon. Rod was pissing Jordan off because he was driving him crazy and he was really making him play both ends of the court. »
Also known to be the godfather of Kyrie Irving, Rod Strickland influenced several generations of small basketball players from the Big Apple.
For Stephon Marbury, too, basketball was a family affair. The orange bullet in the blood…
“Me and my brothers were always drawn to the circle. But my brother Don, who played at Texas A&M, was a good shooter. It was he who told me that you had to have a good outside shot. With my athletic qualities, like my other brother Eric. And I also learned to pass like my brother Juju. When I managed to add it all up, I had a good combination of talents. I knew what I had to do and my opponents had a hard time containing me. It’s a bit like what happened to Kyrie, with Rod. He had the right people to tell him what was important to do to break through at an early age. »
Stephon Marbury throws a chill in Minnesota
Landed in the NBA after a single college season, the norm these days but a rarity at the time, Stephon Marbury was phenomenal from his first strides at the highest level. With 16 points and 8 assists on average for his first season, he was logically elected in the best five rookie. Provoking legitimate dreams of grandeur associated with an exploding Kevin Garnett too…
But Stephon Marbury decided otherwise. Placing an ultimatum to his employers before his last year of rookie contract in the summer of 1998.
“I had a very good experience in Minnesota. That’s where I learned how the NBA works. I learned this from Flip Saunders, an amazing coach and an even better human being. When he died, it hurt me because he had played a major role in my career, when I started in the League. They were amazing years but I just didn’t want to spend seven years of my life in -40°C and snow. »
Failing New York, his heart team, where he will evolve later in his career (with more or less success) between 2003 and 2008, it is first in New Jersey that Stephon Marbury will land from the Minnesota.
This is where he will reach the peak of his career, elected All-Star in 2001 with 24 points and 8 assists on average.
“I wanted to choose where I wanted to go, it’s a business and it was my right. I was going to be a free agent, and I told them I didn’t want to resign; it was better for them to exchange me than to lose me without consideration. It was also said at the time that I was jealous of Kevin [Garnett] but why would I have been? I couldn’t make more money than that, I was maxed out, there was a ceiling. We can’t do anything to the contracts that were signed before us, just as we can’t do anything to those that are being signed these days. »