Stephon Marbury was among the most controversial players in the NBA during the '90s and early 2000s. The 4th overall pick of the 1996 Draft possessed the talent, although keeping his head in the game was a concern highlighted by several NBA experts at the time.
After starting his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Georgia Tech product made headlines for his issues off the court. But given the opportunity, the 6-foot-2 guard could orchestrate plays and sink buckets when it mattered the most.
On the court, Marbury was never at a loss for words. He would not back down from anyone, regardless of whether that player was on the court or the bench. Eddie House of the Boston Celtics was one player with whom Marbury had a beef. This was when the Knicks faced the Celtics in a preseason matchup.
Things got heated between the two guards in that game. Both tried to psyche each other out with their respective trash-talking. Marbury still made a good account of himself in that game, hoping to convince new head coach Mike D'Antoni that he deserved a starting spot.
Despite a good performance, his verbal tussle with House stood out. One instance came after Stephone converted two free throws off a foul by Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins. Marbury would shout at House, calling him a bum.
In the play that followed, House would continue jawing with Marbury, telling him to worry about the person he was guarding at the time - Ray Allen. Despite that rant, Marbury blasted back with a chippy response to the former second-round pick.
"You're nothing!" Marbury yelled via the New York Times . "You're caught up in basketball. Get caught up in life."
Beginning of the end
In the end, House and the Celtics got the last laugh. They went on to win over the Knicks, 101-90, at Madison Square Garden, rendering Marbury's efforts for naught.
It is also worth noting that D'Antoni was trying to figure out who would start for him once the regular season began. Marbury had to contend with Duhon and other Knicks guards, such as Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford. Despite that, Stephon claimed at the time that he was not worried about it.
"I'm not really worried about it, honestly," Marbury stated. "It's the preseason, so I'm not reading too much into it."
Marbury would eventually be traded to the Boston Celtics after playing 24 games that season. Like Brown and Thomas, Starbury also ended up feuding with D'Antoni. He felt that the 2005 Coach of the Year was doing a poor job leading the Knicks and felt New York would be better off with a different mentor. D'Antoni resigned in 2012 after failing to turn things around for the franchise.
"The coaching is horrible. Horrendous. They need a new coach, and I'm speaking as a fan and New Yorker. They say good coaches get the most out of players and win games. I don't see it," Marbury said back then via the New York Post .
That exit from the Knicks was the beginning of the end for Marbury. With the Celtics, he played only 23 regular and 14 postseason games. Starbury took his act to the Chinese Basketball Association, joining the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons in 2010. Aside from the Dragons, Stephon also had stints with the Foshan Dralions, Beijing Ducks, and the Beijing Flying Dragons.
Marbury blossomed into a big star in the CBA, where he spent the next eight years, hanging up his sneakers after his final game with the Flying Dragons in February 2018.
Related: Stephon Marbury continues his social media rant about LeBron: "Is he the best decision-maker of all time?"
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