Starbury

The NBA’s most traded twenty-something goes inside on Jordan, the college game, and the contents of his pocket.

He’s in his seventh year playing NBA basketball, yet before his last birthday, Stephon Marbury couldn’t even rent a car without his momma’s autograph. Too young to be considered a journeyman and too old to eat squeeze yogurt, Starbury’s nomadic NBA itinerary has placed him in Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Jersey, and now Phoenix, where he’s among the league’s leaders in scoring, assists, and questions fielded about Jason Kidd.

You’re 25 years old, and already you’ve played for more cities than Foghat. Is all this moving around starting to take a toll on you?
Nah, not at all. That’s the nature of the game and the business.

Still got a few boxes packed just in case?
Nah, I’m comfortable being in Phoenix. That’s where I spend the off-season.

How do you keep sharp in the off-season?
I’ll play at places like L.A. Fitness with the guys that play down there.

You play with regular schmucks?
Yeah! Whoever wants to play, I’ll play. I like playing basketball. It doesn’t matter who I’m playing with.

Do you want to see the Nets crash and burn?
Not at all. The way they play now is totally different. It’s not just one guy creating for everyone else; everyone is making plays for each other. When I was there, they didn’t play that way. Jason Kidd is a great player who can really get guys going. He knows how to set people up, whereas I’m a guy who scores. By trading me, they were able to get better with the draft pick and Jason Kidd.

Sitting out during the postseason left you some time to watch basketball—do you find Bill Walton as insufferably annoying as the rest of us?
Actually, I like Bill Walton. He gave me big love when I got traded.

Talk a lot of trash?
Sometimes you shake somebody up. You look at ’em—you don’t have to say nothing—you just look at ’em.

So, you’re a trash looker?
If trash is talked to me, I’ll talk back. That stuff right there will get you going. Take Gary Payton. He’s not a trash talker, to me. He talks a lot on the court, but he’s not a trash talker.

Who talks the best trash?
Michael Jordan. He’s the worst, like, “You can’t guard me,” and, “I’m going to score the next five times,” and, “I’m about to shoot a three, and it’s going to go in.”

So, he’s like a prophet.
Yeah, something like that.

And he’s still talking?
Oh, yeah. He beats you before you get on the court. It’s not physical. Mentally, he’ll just take your heart from you from the beginning of the game. When you get on the court, you’re hoping that he doesn’t get 40 [points], but gets 39, so then you’re like, “All right, he didn’t get 40.” When he gets 50, you know you’re going to be on ESPN.

If you could have anyone traded to the Suns, who would it be?
Shaquille O’Neal. If I was an owner, like (Dallas Mavericks owner) Mark Cuban—I love him—I would have paid everyone the max, just to keep that team together. That’s phenomenal to have that many guys playing that way together. You’ve got Nick Van Exel, who, in my eyes, is an All-Star point guard, and he’s backing up Steve Nash! But there’s still no one who can beat L.A. because there’s nobody who can beat Shaq when he’s healthy.

What’s wrong with basketball right now?
I like the old rules better. I don’t like the zone. I don’t like the fact that you can’t bump anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an advantage for me, but, without guys being able to put their hands on you, it’s a lot easier to go by them. I think the game is a lot more fun when you can overpower. People get mad at Shaq, but by being a bigger guy, that’s his ability. The zone allows anybody to come into the game. If you can shoot, you’re going to get into the league.

A couple years ago, you couldn’t carry the ball. But since Jordan came back, that’s never called, because that’s his move. I was taking total advantage of that last year.

Attendance is down league-wide. What has to change?
The lockout really hurt basketball, but it’s coming back because Jordan’s back. A few years back, it was Jordan and nobody else. After he left, we were a bunch of young guys forming an identity—Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Shaq. When Jordan returned, everything was again focused on him. It was a plus, but it was kind of a negative, too. If he were to leave again, it would be kind of tough because you’d have to rebuild that group again.

You left Georgia Tech after one year. In retrospect, do you think basketball suffers when kids leave school early, depleting the college game of talent and elevating players who may not be ready for the next level?
If you’re ready, go. It’s unfair that colleges make all the money off kids that come in and play great basketball. People don’t realize how much money they make—if you advance to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the school gets like $500,000, $600,000. Get to the second or third, it’s like a million or two million. Why can’t we get some of that money? You want us to practice 50 hours, then go to school, then travel and play to make the organization work. And then they don’t let you work to make your own money.

Which team has the worst locker room?
By far—it’s not even close—Boston. And the Knicks. I’ve seen mice at the Garden before.

Who is the best player in the league?
I think I’m the best player in the league.

What’s in your pockets right now?
Some money, some pain pills. Oh, and a receipt for the gas station.

You pump your own gas?
Yeah.

Tell us something most people don’t know about you.
That I’m a caring person. I would rather somebody else have a good time than me.

Would you rather have four legs or two heads?
Four legs. I think that would benefit me more on the court.

He always thought he was the best, its just that NY, they've gotta make an issue out of something, and now those words are immortal.

I read this interview before, and I also paused on him saying that he is the best player in the league.
But it's really no big deal. I seem to recall Bobby Jackson saying he was the best PG in the league while he was still a 6th man, and other cases of this and that. It's all about the NY media and the pressure of playing in New York. I think it's a big difference than in other smaller markets...