Getty Steve Nash of the Suns drives past Stephon Marbury of the Knicks.
When the greatest point guards in NBA history get discussed the names that usually come up are Steph Curry, Magic Johnson, and Isaiah Thomas. And deservedly so. Magic and Steph have won multiple NBA Most Valuable Player awards and all of the aforementioned names have won at least one NBA title in their illustrious careers. But one name in the discussion that often flies under the radar is that of former Nets and New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury.
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Shawn Marion: Stephon Marbury Deserves Hall of Fame Nod
Marbury in his NBA career averaged 19.3 points, 7.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. One of the greatest talents that the NBA has ever seen. Retired forward Shawn Marion who was an NBA Champion with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, believes that Marbury deserves to be voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
“You know what? I think he deserves it just as well as I do. It goes back to what is the exact criteria of it, you know what I’m saying? Because you listed most of his accolades and what he’s accomplished from high school to pros, to overseas/ global which is awesome but, what is the criteria for the Hall of Fame?” Marbury said to Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson of Bally Sports.
“Is it a popularity contest or is it people really going out there and making an impact on the game that’s self-explanatory that you can’t reciprocate it. So, I sit here and I look at different things and get different scenarios and I played with Steph. Steph was an AMAZING athlete and an amazing point guard and the things that he was able to do on the floor at his size were amazing.”
Stephon Marbury deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, Shawn Marion tells @BallySports.
“I think he deserves it,” Marion says of @StarburyMarbury.
Hall of fame criteria consists of body of work& impact in the following:
✅ High School
✅ College
✅ NBA
Marion Sounds off on Marbury’s Career Overseas
While Marbury never won a championship or Most Valuable Player award while he was in the NBA, he had a career rebirth when he took his talents to the Chinese Basketball Association. After being selected to the All-Star team just twice in the NBA he was a 6-time CBA All-Star, won three CBA Titles, won one CBA Finals MVP and a CBA Foreign MVP award.
“And he was able to go overseas and continue that legacy; they had a statue built over this man! Doing the stuff off the court and of course, now he’s a head coach and just doing it and living his life over there,” Marion continued.
“He blessed my presence this summer gracefully after he went to go see his daughter in Phoenix and he stopped in Dallas on the layover; we came over and hung out a little bit, ate some fried chicken on the patio, reminiscing on the old days in Phoenix and we had a ball! We won some playoff games in Dallas and stuff but, it was just a quick stint but [in Phoenix] it was a great time. I went to his and Tasha’s wedding so I just remember a lot of history and stuff, and everything wasn’t peaches and gravy but we had a cool relationship and a cool dynamic and you see that we were able to be around each other and we talk and converse with each other still to this day. We still talk. Even though he’s overseas right now, we STILL keep in touch.”
While Marbury may never achieve the status of some of the other All-Time great point guards in the NBA there is no denying that he has left behind an All-Time legacy on the game of basketball. Other great guards who didn’t win titles in the NBA such as Tracy McGrady have already received the Hall of Fame nod. Marbury’s name could get called in the next few years.
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