Background

Stephon Xavier Marbury was born on February 20, 1977, in Brooklyn, New York. Marbury has often gone by the nickname "Starbury", a nickname given to him during his youth. Marbury, the sixth of seven children, was born and raised in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn. During his teenage years, he starred at NYC basketball powerhouse Abraham Lincoln High School. After his senior year, Marbury was named New York State Mr. Basketball. He was often heralded as the next great NYC point guard, expected to follow the success of NBA stand-outs like 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, which followed three seniors and Marbury, a freshman, through the early months of his first season with the school's team. In high school, he played for the renowned AAU team the New York Gauchos.

Marriage, Wife, and Children

After living the bachelor's life of a basketball star, Marbury eventually married Latasha on September 14, 2002. Marbury went on to have three children with his wife. The names of his children are Xaviera Marbury, Stephon Marbury, Jr, and Stephanie Marbury.

Career

Minnesota Timberwolves (1996–1999)

Stephon Marbury was selected fourth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1996 NBA draft. He was then traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the draft rights to Ray Allen and a future first-round pick. In his first season in the league, Marbury averaged 15.8 points and 7.8 assists per game and was named to the 1997 All-Rookie Team. He and second-year player Kevin Garnett led the Timberwolves to the NBA Playoffs in 1997 and 1998.

During the lockout-shortened 1999 season, Marbury's agent, David Falk, demanded a trade. Marbury said he wanted to be closer to his family and friends. Other reports said he wanted to go to a market that would provide more endorsement opportunities, while others suggested that Marbury genuinely disliked Minnesota and was jealous of Kevin Garnett's new contract. Marbury was ultimately traded to the New Jersey Nets in a three-way trade in which Terrell Brandon was sent from Milwaukee to Minnesota and Sam Cassell was sent from New Jersey to Milwaukee.

New Jersey Nets (1999–2001)

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.

Phoenix Suns (2001–2004)

Marbury was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Johnny Newman and Soumaila Samake in the 2001 offseason for Jason Kidd and Chris Dudley. 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 playoffs, but the Suns were ousted by the Spurs in the first round.

New York Knicks (2004–2009)

Marbury and Penny Hardaway were traded to the New York Knicks on January 5, 2004, for Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Antonio McDyess, Maciej Lampe, and additional future first-round draft choice. This brought Marbury full circle, as he grew up in New York and was a lifelong Knicks fan.

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 home with a bronze medal. Despite the disappointment, Marbury scored a U.S. team Olympic record 31 points in a game against Spain, a record which has since been eclipsed by Carmelo Anthony in 2012.

During the 2005–06 season Marbury feuded with head coach Larry Brown. Towards the end of the 2005–2006 season, the Knicks' poor performance combined with Marbury's public spats with his coach led to a severe decline in Marbury's popularity, with Frank Isola and Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News stating that Marbury is "the most reviled athlete in New York."

The public feud between Marbury and Brown was one of the reasons Larry Brown was fired at the end of the 2005–06 season. Isiah Thomas took over the coaching role and the Knicks were slightly more successful during the 2006–2007 season, surpassing the previous year's 23 wins, 54 games into their 82-game season, before falling off and finishing with only 33. Despite the fact that Marbury had less impressive statistics than in prior years, people claim that Marbury's newfound unselfishness was key to the team's apparent improvement towards the end of the season.