Marbury, Stefon

Minnesota Timberwolves (1996-1999)

After Marbury was selected in the 1996 NBA draft under the 4th number by the Milwaukee Bucks team, he was exchanged for the Minnesota Timberwolves team for Ray Allen , selected in the same draft under the 5th number, as well as for the future draft -peak in the 1st round, which subsequently turned out to be Danny Fortson . In his first season in the league, Mabreri scored an average of 15.8 points per match and made 7.8 assists. Unlike other legendary defenders Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen , who were included in the 1997 NBA rookie team , he ended up in the 1st NBA rookie team along with Allen Iverson . Marbury and a year earlier chosen Kevin Garnett brought Minnesota to the NBA playoffs in 1997 and 1998.

In the 1998/1999 season shortened due to the lockout, Marbury's agent, David Folk, demanded that his client be exchanged for another team. Marbury said he wants to be closer to his family and friends. Some correspondents called the main reasons for his transition that Marbury did not like Minnesota and that he did not like Kevin Garnett’s new contract, according to which he received much more than Stefon. One way or another, he was sold at the New Jersey Nets as a result of a three-way exchange where Brandon Terrell went from Milwaukee Bucks to Minnesota, and Sam Cassell followed the route from New Jersey to Milwaukee.

New Jersey Nets (1999-2001)

It was in the New Jersey Nets that Marbury began to turn into a super NBA star. In 2000, he got into the 3rd national team of all NBA stars , and also in 2001 took part in the all-star match, where he made 2 decisive throws and helped the team to win the all-stars of the Eastern Conference. On February 13, 2001, Marbury scored a record-breaking 50 points in a lost overtime match against the Los Angeles Lakers . However, despite his personal achievements, the Nets were never able to get into the playoffs with him.

Phoenix Suns (2001-2004)

In the offseason of 2001, along with Johnny Newman and Sumayla Samake, he was exchanged at the Phoenix Suns for Jason Kidd . Playing for the Suns, Marbury took part in the all-stars match for the 2nd time and again ended up in the 3rd team of all the NBA stars. As part of the Phoenix, Marbury played along with the best NBA rookie in 2003, Amara Stademeyer, and all-star 2013 participant in the match, Shawn Marion , thus forming a big trio. In 2003, the Suns, led by a trio of players, managed to break into the playoffs, but they took off in the 1st round after losing to the San Antonio Spurs .

New York Knicks (2004-2009)

On January 5, 2004, a large exchange took place between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks . The Nyx were replenished by Marbury, Anferny Harduway and Cesare Trybanski , in return the Sans received at their disposal Izli Howard , Charlie Ward , Antonio MacDyess , Maciej Lampe , the rights to Milos Vujanic and the elections in the 1st round of the 2004 and 2010 draft ^{[ 1]} . Marbury was very happy about this exchange, since he grew up in New York and has been a fan of the Knicks since childhood.

Marbury took part in the 2004 Summer Olympics , where for the first time in its history, the US team , made up entirely of NBA players, did not win Olympic gold medals. Marbury and his team were content with only a bronze medal, losing in the semifinals of the Argentine national team . Despite the unsatisfactory performance of his team, Marbury scored a record 31 points for players from the United States at the Olympic Games in a game against the Spanish national team ( Carmelo Anthony later broke this record in 2012 with 37 points).

In the 2005-2006 season, Marbury clashed with team head coach Larry Brown . The Knicks ended the season with the worst result in their history since the 1985-1986 season, winning only 23 games and losing 59 games respectively. Marbury did not hide his displeasure with Larry Brown. Open hostility between the player and his coach largely determined the resignation of the latter at the end of the season ^[2] . The next head coach of the New York Knicks was the Detroit Pistons , the legendary point guard in the past, while the president of the Knicks, Isaiah Thomas , was able to prevent a further drop in New York and won the 33rd match with the club instead last year's 23 victories. Despite the fact that Marbury had less impressive statistics than in previous years, some experts said that Stefan is a key player in the further recovery of the team.

In January 2010, it was announced that the player had signed a contract with the Shanxi Zhongyuy Chinese Basketball Association Club. ^[3] In the first game, Stefon, despite a radical change of time zones, scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, gave away 8 assists, and 4 interceptions in 28 minutes on the court. ^[4] In 15 games, an average player scored 22.9 points, gave 9.5 assists and made 2.6 interceptions, but this did not help Shanxi to reach the playoffs. Later, Marbury took part in the All-Star Game of the KBA , in which North and South played, and performed superbly, gaining 30 points and giving 10 assists to the North team. His performance brought the player the title of MVP All-Star Game. ^[5] In July 2010, Marbury agreed on the terms of a three-year contract with the club ^[6] , but already in December 2010 he left the team and joined another, this time, Foshan Dralines . ^[7] As in the previous season, Marbury was included in the starting five of the All-Star Game-2011, but the team again did not get into the playoffs.

In 2011, the player again changed the club, moving to Beijing , where he joined the Beijing Dax . In the 2011-12 season of the Chinese Championship, Marbury and Peking Ducks set a new record by winning 13 championship opening matches. The player again played in the 2012 All-Star Game, but this time his team entered the playoffs. In the series against Shanxi, the player scored an average of 45 points per match and led the “ducks” to the team’s first final in which he met seven-time Chinese champion Guangdong Southern Tigers . The stunning game of Marbury (41 points in the final) allowed his club to win the first victory and the title of champion of China. ^[8]

•   Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marbury, Stefon
• Profile on the NBA website
• Statistics of performances in the NBA on the website www.basketball-reference.com (English)
• Statistics of performances at the Olympics on the website www.sports-reference.com (eng.)