Stephon Marbury

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Marbury has often gone by the nickname 'Starbury', a name created during his youth. He was born and raised in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. He attended elementary school, PS 329. During his teenage years, he starred at NYC powerhouse Abraham Lincoln High School. After his senior year Marbury was named New York State Mr. Basketball, after averaging 27.4 points, 8.3 assists and 3 steals per game. He was often heralded as the next great NYC point guard, expected to follow the success of NBA stand-outs Mark Jackson and Kenny Anderson. While still attending Abraham Lincoln High School he was one of the subjects of Darcy Frey's book The Last Shot. In high school, he played for the AAU team the New York Gauchos. He was named a 1995 McDonald's All-American along with future NBA All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and Antawn Jamison. Marbury was listed as one of the top five recruits in the country that year and was pursued by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coach Bobby Cremins, with whom he eventually committed. At Georgia Tech, Marbury took over the starting point guard role left vacant with Travis Best's departure. Teaming with future NBA players Matt Harpring and Drew Barry, Marbury led Georgia Tech to a 24–12 record en route to the Regional Semi-final game of the NCAA tournament, where the Yellow Jackets lost to Cincinnati 87–70. For the season, Marbury averaged 18.9 ppg and 4.5 assists and was named a Third Team All American by the Associated Press, along with several conference honors. Following the season he declared himself eligible for the 1996 NBA draft.

In Their Own Story

The drama peaked in mid-November 2007 when Marbury returned after missing one game, only to be met by fans chanting 'fire Isiah' and booing virtually every player, especially him. The dysfunction coincided with eight straight losses for the Knicks. In February 2008, Marbury underwent season-ending ankle surgery that the team reportedly deemed unnecessary, yet he elected to proceed regardless. Isiah Thomas hinted this might be his final game in a Knicks uniform. Although Thomas was removed as president and coach by April 2008, replaced by Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni respectively, Marbury's situation did not improve. He competed with Chris Duhon for the starting role during training camp but lost out. When D'Antoni offered him approximately 35 minutes of playtime in a game, Marbury allegedly refused, feeling his time with the franchise had ended. This refusal led to his official ban from all Knicks practices and games on December 1.

Reader's Guide

Marbury 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, he averaged 15.8 points and 7.8 assists per game and was named to the 1997 All-Rookie Team. He and Kevin Garnett led the Timberwolves to the NBA playoffs in 1997 and 1998. During the 1997 NBA Playoffs, Marbury led Minnesota in scoring with 28 points during a first round Game 1 loss to the Houston Rockets. During the lockout-shortened 1999 season, Marbury's agent demanded a trade. Marbury was ultimately traded to the New Jersey Nets, alongside Bill Curley and Chris Carr of the Timberwolves and Elliot Perry of the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-way trade. While in New Jersey, Marbury blossomed into an All-Star. Marbury made the All-NBA 3rd Team in 2000 and was selected as a reserve for the 2001 All-Star Game, where he hit 2 clutch threes to win the game. Marbury also scored a career-high 50 points on February 13, 2001, in an overtime loss against the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite his individual accolades, the Nets never made the playoffs during Marbury's time with the team. Marbury was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Johnny Newman and Soumaila Samake in the 2001 offseason for Jason Kidd and Chris Dudley. On November 30, 2002, Marbury scored a season-high 43 points, including 26 in the 4th quarter, to lead the Suns to a 94–87 win over the San Antonio Spurs. As a Sun, Marbury made his second All-Star team and the All-NBA 3rd team in 2003. Teamed with Rookie of the Year Amar'e Stoudemire and All-Star Shawn Marion, the trio took the team to the 2003 NBA playoffs, but the Suns were ousted by the Spurs in the first round. Marbury, Penny Hardaway and Cezary Trybański were traded to the New York Knicks on January 5, 2004, for Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Antonio McDyess, Maciej Lampe, draft rights to Miloš Vujanić, a first-round 2004 draft choice, and an additional future first-round draft choice. Marbury played for the U.S. in the 2004 Summer Olympics, the first of the U.S. teams composed of NBA players to fail to win the gold medal at the Olympics. He and his teammates returned with bronze. Despite the disappointment, Marbury scored a U.S. team Olympic record 31 points in a game against Spain (since eclipsed by Carmelo Anthony in 2012). During the 2005–06 seas

Did You Know?

• Marbury scored a career-high 50 points on February 13, 2001, in an overtime loss against the Los Angeles Lakers while playing for the New Jersey Nets.
• Marbury scored a U.S. team Olympic record 31 points in a game against Spain during the 2004 Summer Olympics.
• Marbury was named New York State Mr. Basketball after averaging 27.4 points, 8.3 assists and 3 steals per game in his senior year of high school.