Stephon Marbury Says His Career Is Worthy of Hall of Fame Nod
Stephon Marbury, who told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears he plans to retire from basketball Feb. 11, is campaigning for a place in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
According to Spears, Marbury believes he earned enshrinement in Springfield, Massachusetts, for his international accomplishments after moving abroad and starring in the Chinese Basketball Association:
"My numbers are Hall of Fame. That's first. You look at guys who have never won championships on the globe, they are in the Hall of Fame. Two, what I have done to help basketball globally to bridge the gap from America to China, with China being one of the main components on the Earth for basketball, that right there alone should bridge that gap.
"It's the Basketball Hall of Fame, not the NBA Hall of Fame. So, for basketball, I played in Olympics, I played in the Junior Olympics. With what I've done and given to basketball is all Hall of Fame."
Following a 13-year NBA career that featured seven All-Star and two All-NBA Third Team nods, Marbury latched on with the CBA's Beijing Ducks and built one of the most prolific resumes ever for an international player.
The 40-year-old will finish his time in China with three CBA titles and a 2015 Finals MVP.
"I have three championships in a country where I don't speak the language," Marbury told Spears. "People don't even know how hard it is to play in China. People think it is easy for the foreign players, but it is really not. It's difficult. You can ask JR [Smith] and Tracy [McGrady]. It's not just about your ability to score. It's just about being able to try to win."
Marbury, who averaged 19.3 points, 7.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds in the NBA, was also a member of the United States men's basketball team that won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
