A soft spot for Steph
Knicks' Marbury is awfully hard to root against
Posted: Monday November 14, 2005 1:22PM; Updated: Monday November 14, 2005 1:22PM






It was the fall of 2000, and I'd been in New York City for all of about three weeks. I'd moved up from Atlanta to take a job at SLAM magazine, and I quickly found myself penning my first cover story, on then-Nets point guard Stephon Marbury.

When my wife and I moved to the big city, we initially lived in tiny one-room apartment near the U.N. Living above a nail salon turned out not to be a problem, but two people in a room about the size of a U-Haul truck just wasn't good for anyone involved, so we found a bigger place. Only problem was that moving day was the same day Marbury had cleared for me to hang out and interview him at his boyhood home in Coney Island.

Of course, this didn't make me the most popular person at home. I hadn't even received my first paycheck yet, and was flaunting a negative bank account balance, so it was slightly surreal to find myself riding around Coney Island in a Bentley convertible, while wifey was back in the city bossing around a moving crew.

When I explained my dilemma to Steph, he laughed and noted I better do something nice for her. Perhaps I could buy her flowers before returning home, I suggested. "No," Marbury said, "you should get her something different, something nice ... like maybe a pair of shoes or a purse." Steph and I hit it off, and even though I didn't buy/couldn't afford a purse, I took his advice and did my best to make her feel special when I got home.

The first time I saw Marbury play was in the first game of his only season at Georgia Tech. I'd heard about him because he was the most highly touted prep prospect that year, but seeing him in person was unsettling; that's how good he was. It was just an exhibition game against the venerable traveling Marathon Oil team, but Marbury's talent was palpable. He played with a low center of gravity, but seemed to rise 36 inches off the floor on every jump shot. He was explosive off of pick-and-rolls, and he moved like a viper, constantly about to strike. I'd seen Dominique, Bird, Jordan and Magic play in person, and I could recognize greatness. Marbury was special, even then, and I knew he was going to get better. I'll always remember returning to my parents' house after the game and telling my Mom that Marbury might be the best basketball player I'd ever seen.

Now, Marbury is beginning his 10th NBA season. He's been traded for Jason Kidd, Ray Allen and Charlie Ward. He's been to two All-Star Games, and is one of two players in NBA history to post career averages of at least 20 points and eight assists per game. (The other player was some guy named Oscar Robertson.) He's durable like a running back -- last year he was second in the NBA in minutes played -- and he's still as explosive as ever, breathtaking to watch as he fires off a pick-and-roll and attacks the rim, the ball protected tightly between his forearms.

Greatness, however, has mostly eluded him. He's never made it past the first round of the playoffs, and he's been tagged with a reputation of a guy who improved his teams mostly by leaving. Now he finds himself as the best player in the NBA's biggest market, and for the first time he has an established coach, someone who's actually won in the past and demands respect
As I've contended throughout his career, the problem generally isn't Steph, it's the rest of his team. The Knicks are such a mess right now that even Larry Brown doesn't have a clue what to do. Rookie forward David Lee, for instance, was inactive for the first two games, then had eight points and 10 boards against the Warriors, and has played a total of 13 minutes since. Matt Barnes started the first three games, was inactive for the next two, and then started last night in the Knicks' first win. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to see Brown suit up Cal Ramsey and Willis Reed.

This week, with the team reeling, Marbury's name has started to pop up again in trade talk and on back-page headlines. As usual, he doesn't seem to care, playing his game while trying to learn Brown's system, passing the ball to guys he knows probably can't hit the open jumper.

He may never win a title, but as a guy who came from a sprawling family that was jammed into a Coney Island project, it's hard to argue with the notion my friend Ben presented recently: That no matter how his career concludes, perhaps Steph has already made it. And forgive my bias here, but I find a guy who's come from where Marbury has come from impossible to root against.

Nice article. I think Stephon will finally find the team success that has eluded him playing for Larry Brown and Isaiah.