New York basketball icon and China ambassador of basketball, Stephon Marbury is probably the most opinionated man in basketball these days.
He proved that theory most accurately last month while sitting courtside during USA Basketball’s Championship game win against France.
While styling in a pair of Chamelo sunglasses, the two-time NBA All Star went on Instagram Live and narrated the closing seconds of Team USA’s win which included Kevin Durant passing the ball to Steph Curry and Curry connecting on a fluid jumper which sealed the win.
“KD got the ball, he throws it back to the chef,” yelled Marbury during his commentary.
“Chef got the ball behind the back. Oh no, don’t do that, don’t do that,” yelled Marbury.
And then Curry did exactly THAT…Curry hit the moneyball three over Nic Batum and gave his signature “night, night” celebration after the golden dagger.
Au revoir.
The U.S. beat France 98-87, Curry finished the game with 24 points and five assists, the US won the Gold medal, LeBron James was named the Most Valuable Player and Marbury wanted to know why.
Marbury took to Twitter (formerly known as X) and said: “They gave the MVP to the wrong player, Maybe they called out the wrong name by accident.”
While many debated, argued and some even agreed on Marbury’s position, the remains that without Curry, Team USA probably wouldn’t have secured its fifth straight Olympic gold medal. The Golden State Warriors icon averaged 30.0 points and 8.5 3-pointers per game in the final two rounds.
Marbury says Curry’s performance was top notch and next level. “I saw a spirit,” Stephon Marbury tells Scoop B Radio during a sit down interview in Malibu, California.
“I saw a spirit on the court playing!”
Appearing on today’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast, Marbury promoted his newest venture with Chamelo Eyewear, whose color-changing lenses have Bluetooth technology and double as music headphones and allow you talk on the phone.
Marbury also discussed trending topics across the NBA landscape including why he believes that Jayson Tatum may be one of the players who benefitted mightily from participation in USA Basketball. “I think Tatum,” Marbury told Scoop B Radio.
“I think the younger guys that didn’t play as much because of LeBron, Carmelo and D-Wade after the [2004] Olympics, them dudes went on some SERIOUS crazy everlasting terror because they didn’t play — and we lost.”
Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards also played on Team USA. Marbury shared why he likes Ant Man’s approach to the NBA game. “I think Anthony Edwards is off the hook,” he shared.
“I mean, he could play in ANY era. Period. And do exactly what he’s doing now.”
Marbury’s former team, the Phoenix Suns created a Big 3 that includes Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Although the expectations were high for the trio last season, unfortunately they failed to fulfill them last season and had a first round exit in last year’s NBA Playoffs.
The Suns hired former two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer as their new head coach. “I think that they need a point guard,” says Marbury.
“They need a scoring point guard. They need a guy that can get them going but can really go too. Like the kid that plays for the Indiana Pacers? Tyrese [Haliburton]. He didn’t play in the Olympics that much this year. But if he gets stronger? Oh my God, he will be off the hook! He got a big heart but sometimes he seems like his heart don’t beat just as big as the other guys whose heart beats big too. It’s like, he lets other hearts beat him out. But I think that he’s still young and I think once he gets stronger — he needs about 15-20 more pounds of solid muscle on him. I like him with Phoenix. If he plays with Phoenix, I think he’d definitely be different because he’s definitely DIFFERENT because he runs the ball up the court, he knows how to handle the ball. Sometimes he jumps in the air too much but he’ll get out of that habit because he’ll learn everybody’s habits where he’ll see who knows how to play defense, who can steal the ball, who doesn’t steal the ball.”
While he’s currently still a member of the Indiana Pacers, futuristically, Tyrese Haliburton playing for the Phoenix Suns would be an interesting pairing.
In the present NBA however, Marbury believes the future is bright in San Antonio and he shares why San Antonio Spurs star, Victor Wembanyama will be the face of the NBA for years to come. “There’s no doubt about that,” he said.
“Look up his shoes right now. Have you ever seen his shoes? What’s on ‘em? Aliens, right? You tell me what Wembanyama IS.”
Marbury also likes the pairing of Chris Paul in San Antonio with Wembanyama and thinks that it will benefit team development. “First let me say how much of it how Coach Pop it was to bring in Chris Paul first, okay,” he said.
“Let me tell you how genius of it, it was for Chris Paul to just straight revitalize his career AGAIN! It’s like he’s the luckiest point guard EVER every two to three years! He gets GREAT opportunities. He’s somewhere now doing hand exercises and ankle exercises!”
San Antonio’s acumen on the court with Wemby and CP3 will be box office, says Marbury.
“Unbelievable! That’s what I’m trying to tell you! It’s like having Jason Kidd with Vince Carter, [Desmond] Mason… this guy is all of the high-flying jumping dudes who catch lobs and run the floor… Shawn Marion too!”
Appearing on the Scoop B Radio Podcast, Marbury also shared a story involving him, Michael Jordan, a pair of white, black and blue Air Jordan XVIII’s during the 2003 NBA All Star Weekend in Atlanta; MJ’s last All Star Game.
Marbury asked MJ for his sneakers and MJ gifted them to Marbury, who like MJ was also born in Brooklyn. “I asked Michael Jordan for him to sign his shoes for me.” he said.
“It was a real moment. I’m a Michael Jordan fan. I remember I asked for his shoes and I was like, ‘Yo Mike can get your shoes and sign ‘em?’ And I didn’t know if he was going to say yes or no. So I was like, ‘Fuck it. The worst he could say is no, but he could say yeah…’ But he said yeah and I said to him, ‘I’ll be in the locker room after the game!’ As soon as we lost, I ran down to the locker room. Word up!”
A legend at Brooklyn, New York’s Lincoln High School, a former New York Knick and an NBA All Star during his days as a New Jersey Net, Marbury weighed in on both the Brooklyn Nets and the state of the Knicks.
Million Dollar Question: Could New York ever be a Nets town?
“After they win a championship,” Marbury tells Scoop B Radio.
“They have to win a championship before the Knicks. This is all simple math. There’s no play and be like, Oh we win about 60 games but we lost and we didn’t win the championship and then all of the sudden you’re better than the Knicks? Nah. It doesn’t work like that.”
Marbury does like that the Nets have found a home in the borough of Brooklyn. “I do. It shows that Brooklyn has a rich tradition for sports already. So having a team there, it’s like they’re almost supposed to have a team there because Brooklyn people are proud people too and not everybody loves the Knicks which is why Brooklyn’s here.”
Speaking of the Knicks, Marbury weighed in on the trade between the Nets and the Knicks that shipped Mikal Bridges to the Knicks. “I really didn’t understand that because it’s like, giving them something that they know that they want,” Marbury told Scoop B Radio.
“I mean, it felt like a friendly deal which is kind of cool but if we’re both trying to win a championship, I mean, that right there adds value not only because he can play; he’s a defender, he’s long and athletic. But from a chemistry standpoint that helps them see things a lot wider and a lot narrower from a viewpoint from their focus; but they can see things wider from the vision of that they have another person who they’ve won a [college] championship with.”
Speaking of a Knicks Championship, Marbury would like to see the team win the whole thing again in his lifetime.
Winners of two World Championships in 1970 and 1973, the last time the orange and blue won a Championship, Starbury was four years old.
Appearing in the big game in 1994 and 1999, the Knicks didn’t get it done. Marybury’s optimistic. “For us to win another championship here as a Knick fan, WOW, that would be INCREDIBLE,” he said.
“If you win a championship, you know EVERYTHING has to be in alignment. Everybody has to be on the same page. Everybody has to be speaking the same sounds, the same language, you know? Everybody has to be able to switch when you gotta switch and adjust when you have to adjust. Everyone has to take accountability. So all of these different things that have to take place in order for you to win a championship, you know? It becomes different. And I believe we’re becoming a different organization; a different team for the betterment. This isn’t a hoax where you see the Knicks in years past where things are all of a sudden spiraling and getting out of control. I don’t think that’s the situation right now and I don’t think that’s the situation for their future. I think this is the team that will propel and have the opportunity to position themselves with a little bit of luck.”
The Knicks’ championship hopes begin with the face of their franchise in point guard, Jalen Brunson who over the summer agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension which was $113 million less guaranteed to re-sign with the Knicks. In doing so, it gave New York more cap flexibility to sign additional players in the future. “The greatest move ever,” said Marbury.
“First of all, let’s make something clear. Jalen didn’t pass up anything with the Knicks, okay? Jalen won big time by showing his commitment and his leadership towards him having the desire to bring in more players to open up the portal for more players to come through who want to be a part of that system that they’re building so that they can win an NBA championship. Him doing that — if I’m a company in New York City and I’m looking at what he just now did, I’m at his door knocking at his door to see if I can work with him.
“This selfless act has actually propelled him and has put him in a situation from my perspective, put him in a space that is in a space of his own because everyone knows that New York usually overpays players from different perspectives. Now, you have a guy who people feel like he’s been given the short end of the stick, but then they won’t see it now; they’ll see it later because they won’t see the work that you put in before you get on the court. They only see the results. So, I think this move is brilliant. I think it was calculated.”
In 77 games for the Knicks last season, Brunson averaged 28.7 points and 6.7 assists for a Knicks team that finished 50-32 and lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Marbury believes that as much as Brunson is celebrated, there is always room for improvement. “I want to see him work more on his athleticism,” he said.
“He’s still young and he can improve all of that stuff; having the basketball, getting low, coming up, speed cuts, change of speed. I want to see him doing more things on the court so that he can continue to evolve his game.”
But he likes Brunson individual style and what he means to the big city:
“I think from a basketball standpoint, he has his own style which is what I love. I love guys that create their own style of play, like KD. He has his own style of play. When you see that game, you don’t even need to see who that is; it could be a silhouette. If you see the moves would be like, That’s KD! That’s different. Like the Jordan logo or the Jordan posters… soaring, right? You know what that is. I think that’s what Jalen is doing. He’s creating that for himself. The Hefty Lefty!”
Marbury weighed in on Julius Randle’s fit with the Knicks coming off of injury:
“I think for perspective purposes, I think that he has an opportunity to evaluate what was going on. I’ve seen that he has gone to different events in New York; baseball games and a couple New York Rangers hockey games; and I saw him at different things and that’s great because I think that he fits in New York, you know? Despite Jalen having this ‘Steph Curry’ Olympic moment, but as a season where he’s changing the energy and the rhythm of how people view athletes. Because it just wasn’t about him just as a basketball player. It was this fascination of this guy who was on the basketball court playing the way he was playing for the New York Knicks. Yes, he played for New York and he’s supposed to shine and that’s just what it is. So he was getting the shine that he was getting but he was really doing that, though. It positioned him and put him in a nice spot and people are elated that it’s him. I am as well.”
Marbury shared who he thinks would be a ‘Josh Hart’ type player in his era:
“Guys like Eric Snow. Yeah. Eric Snow with the Sixers with Allen [Iverson]. Like, he was a guy who kept things together on the court, offensively, defensively and he made BIG shots too. People don’t realize that; he’s a little underestimated about some of the shots he’s made. He’s made some big shots like, Man!”
Marbury also delves into whether former Knick Isaiah Hartenstein is a true center: “He’s not a center,” joked Marbury.
“No! Big fella is a stretch 6! He’s not a 5 and he’s not a 4. He’s a winner and he’s going to do well. I’m not saying that he’s not going to go to another team and do the same things; I just feel like that he was a nice fit, you know? I think from that perspective of him having the opportunity to be able to have a presence in New York; to be able to have that opportunity while you’re winning.
Marbury offered tons of insight and color to today’s episode of Scoop B Radio including his thoughts on Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard.
When asked if he thought that Lillard could have a breakout year, Marbury replied: “Who’s going to be the coach? Doc Rivers? [long pause]… I don’t know.”
Marbury, who has a long history of creating his own sneakers also weighed in on the notion of Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown creating his own independent footwear.
Marbury offered advice to Brown:
I think it comes down to how important it is as far as the shoe game is to him. Growing up, I came from New York having my own shoes. That was an automatic thing that I knew that I was gonna do. It wasn’t a “probably” or “maybe.” It was like: When I get my own shoe, I want to do this. I don’t know if he got that in his mind like that but that’s because I’m from New York. That’s what I see every day. They start in New York with the ads. So as a basketball player or high school All-American that’s being courted by different people to wear or go to their camps… it’s different.
You can listen to the full Scoop B Radio Podcast interview Here.
