Stephon Marbury Retires From Basketball

 Stephon Marbury (188 cm, Georgia Tech’96) has officially retired from basketball after his last game in China this February 2018. Marbury, who turns 41 years old in a week’s time, played the 2017-18 season for the Beikong Fly Dragons (China-CBA). In 35 games, the guard recorded averages of 14.7 ppg and 4.8 apg.

The veteran has been an inspiration for players who aspire to continue their professional basketball career overseas after departing the NBA. Marbury moved to China after a 13-year NBA career and went on to win three Chinese CBA Championships with the Beijing Ducks (2012, 2014, 2015). Stephon Marbury has had a huge impact on the rise of Asian Basketball.

He was the fourth overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. While he was in the NBA, Marbury made two All-Star Game appearances (2001, 2003) and also played for USA Basketball in 2004.

“It was a steppingstone,” Marbury said. “The NBA, for me, was preparation for me to do something someplace else. So all of the knowledge, all that I gained, all the things I was able to learn from playing in the NBA allowed me to come someplace else to inject that and give that type of energy to a culture of basketball that needed that.”

“I have accomplished so much in a place where basketball has taken off, heightened and gone to a whole other level. And I had something to do with it. I’m not a younger player seeing all this. I am an older playing seeing all this. So I am in a moment seeing that happening while it’s happening. Everything is all transparent while it’s taking place.”

He firmly believes that his lengthy and stacked resume is worthy of an induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.