Marbury ''on mission to cultivate young and great basketball talent in China for generations to come''
XI'AN - Stephon Marbury wouldn't have drawn it up like this, yet he believes he's gone full circle, from Coney Island phenom to Georgia Tech playmaker to NBA All-Star to a fulfilling life in China.
XI'AN - Stephon Marbury wouldn't have drawn it up like this, yet the famous basketball player believes he's gone full circle, from Coney Island phenom to Georgia Tech playmaker to NBA All-Star to a fulfilling life - both and off the court - in China.
Down in the dumps and wondering what life had in store for him after the end of his NBA career almost a decade ago, Marbury did what many husbands have done and heeded the advice of his most significant other.
"In 2009, my NBA career ended," Marbury told the audience at the FIBA World Basketball Summit earlier this month. "I was an emotional wreck. My wife swayed me to leave everything and everyone behind at home and go do what I love in a foreign country thousands of miles away and I did.
"Spirit reborn. God is great."
"MY GOAL AND PRAYER NOW IS TO HELP GROW THE GAME GLOBALLY, AND HOPEFULLY, BE THAT BRIDGE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA."
Yes Marbury, who had played in the NBA for the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics between 1996 and 2009, jetted off to China, wondering what was in store. He found it immediately upon his arrival in the Far East.
"I had plenty of time to think on the flight from New York to China, time to reflect on my life and the mess I had made of it," he recalled. "The only thing I remember about the day I got to China was how down I was. My spirit was lost. It was bruised. It was broken.
"(But) I was standing at the airport and God revealed himself to me. A few thousand people that I had never saw in my life had come out to greet and welcome me to their country. (So) You automatically smile."
Marbury hasn't turned or looked back since then.
He took what life had on offer, grabbed it with both hands and began to weave his magic, just as he'd done so many times on the asphalt courts of New York or the hardwood of the NBA.
If he had shone in America, he dazzled in China for CBA teams in Shanxi Zhongyu, Foshan and Beijing. He didn't reinvent himself on the court, but probably did off it, becoming one of the biggest sports celebrities in the biggest country in the world.
Now 41, Marbury has retired and brought the curtain down on his playing career. His final game came earlier this year with Beijing but he's remained in the country.
He knows that in the Far East his name resonates thanks to his accomplishments in the NBA, moments of individual brilliance for the USA - including scoring a then national team record 31 points in a 102-94 win over Spain in the Quarter-Finals of the Athens 2004 Olympics - and success with his clubs in China.
China is the land of opportunity and not just for Marbury but also for the thousands upon thousands of aspiring players that he can help.
"My goal and prayer now is to help grow the game globally, and hopefully, be that bridge between the United States and China through my basketball program, Stronger Me," he said.
Stronger Me is essentially a basketball camp in which Marbury himself offers basketball instruction.
"We're on a mission to cultivate the young and great basketball talent in China for generations to come," he explained.
Marbury was a perfect person to have on stage at the Summit. He referred to his speech on his mobile phone, and that was interesting considering how mobile phones and digital technology were among the themes during the first of its kind gathering of basketball stakeholders.
He sees himself as having a helpful role in taking basketball forward in the world and specifically the Far East.
"Basketball is connecting human beings in a way that we never thought before," he pointed out. "Everyone is here to cultivate something to continue to go in a positive direction. What are we all bringing to the table? Everyone (at the Summit) is bringing something positive to help this game go in a direction we all see fit. We are pulling this game to another level."
Because he was willing to leave his comfort zone, Marbury had an awakening of sorts. When he looks back to 2009, he recalls a troubling time in his life.
"I was at my lowest and even wanted to end it all, in spite of having global celebrity status, money, great health and my family as my rock. But the one thing I didn't have and craved so very much was happiness," he recalled.
"I was so unhappy because my spirit was lost. Everything that could have gone wrong in my life did and I basically had no control over it. After 13 years of playing in the NBA, my career was done, finished. It didn't have the storybook ending. Things were so bad for me.
"I lost not one, not two but three close people to me that I loved very much. That includes Don Marbury, my father, my family's patriarch. Also my childhood basketball coach had died and so did my mother's older sister. Three people that I loved passed away in the span of just six weeks.
"Now I admit, I brought some stuff on myself. I wasn't perfect in this. No doubt I made mistakes. Was I immature? Yes I was."
His move and time in China not only helped him rediscover his spirit but also build on it.
"My spirit has evolved. It's changed, and I thank God for that," he said.
FIBA