Most people remember Stephon Marbury from his years in the NBA as he had a career that spanned from 1996-2009. He played for 5 different teams and was usually on teams that would under perform in the playoffs. What they don't know is that after he left the league he went overseas to play in China. Not only did he find success but he became one of the biggest stars to ever play in China.
After exiting the NBA in 2009, he decided to take a chance and go play in the Chinese Basketball League. In January 2010 he signed with the Shanxi Brave Dragons where he came in and averaged 22.9 ppg, 9.5 apg, and 2.6 steals per game. However, they failed to make the playoffs. The next season he played for the Foshan Dralions where he increased his scoring average to over 25 ppg but once again they did not qualify for the playoffs.
Beijing Ducks:
In the 2011-2012 season he started playing for the Beijing Ducks. Immediately he made an impact on the team leading them to a 13-0 record to start the season. They made the playoffs that year posting the 2nd best record in the league. He ended up playing a series against his former team the Shanxi Brave Dragons. He absolutely dominated averaging a whopping 45 ppg in leading his team to victory. They were able to advance all the way to the Finals where he led the team to its first ever championship over the 4 time defending champion Guangdong Southern Tigers.
Marbury would go on to lead the team to 3 total championships (2012, 2014, 2015) and win the CBA foreign MVP award for the 2013 season, as well as a CBA Finals MVP award in 2015. In February 2018 Marbury announced his retirement from the CBA after scoring 20 points in a win over the Jiangsu Dragons. A statue of Marbury stands on the lawn of the MasterCard Center which was the site of the 2008 Olympic basketball games. While he had a productive NBA career I think it's fair to say that he found way more success while playing in China.
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