Look out China. Stephon Marbury is bringing his circus act and tattooed scalp to a court near you. Marbury has agreed to play for the Shanxi Club in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The 32-year old ex-NBA star has been out of action since his brief stint with the Boston Celtics late last season, where he averaged a mere 3.8 points per game. Marbury had gotten to the point where his outlandish UStream marathon’s were much more notable than his on-court performances, and his sanity was questioned much more than his ability to play the game.
As a two-time NBA All-Star, Marbury is the highest profile American player to ever play in the CBA. According to the Washington Post, Marbury has ulterior motives to playing in China. He will also be using the opportunity to promote his low-cost Starbury shoes to a new demographic. Not a bad business move if he can achieve any semblance of his productive NBA years. Still, one has to wonder if the mentally frenetic Marbury is in the right frame of mind to ever return to the same level of play (let alone focus) on the court.
Who knows how Marbury will respond to his new environment, but this isn’t a pioneering move by an NBA player. Bonzi Wells had also signed with the Shanxi Club last season, only to leave the team on holiday and not come back on time. If Wells can’t take it in China, and Marbury had trouble making it work in his own hometown, it’s difficult to imagine Marbury’s China excursion ending well. Still, at one point Wells was averaging a ridiculous 46.8 points per game. If Marbury is given that sort of freedom to shoot any shot he wants at any time, maybe he can build his confidence back up and re-establish himself as a player. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get too popular in China, or he’ll be a perennial NBA All-Star if he ever comes back to the league (I’m looking at you Tracy McGrady).
