Former Knicks star Stephon Marbury is already winning new friends in the grimy coal city of Taiyuan, China, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
“Ma Bu Li,” as he is now known, launched an unlikely career with the Taiyuan Shanxi Zhongyu Professional Basketball Club, one of the worst teams in the league. He is the biggest NBA star to have played professional basketball in China.
Back home, Marbury’s run-ins with coaches and teammates on the Knicks and other teams battered his reputation. After terminating his contract in New York early last year, Marbury played briefly for the Celtics, and according to Zhongyu, he accepted an offer to move to China after he did not get a satisfactory offer in the NBA.
But his falling out with the Knicks was not publicized as much in China as it was in the United States. Though die-hard Chinese fans said they were aware he had less playing time in recent years, Marbury’s reputation as a top-notch point guard is relatively untarnished here.
The 32-year-old posted a greeting to Chinese fans on his blog Tuesday, attracting more than 4,000 subscribers within hours. One user wrote a response to Marbury that said, “I think you can do better in China, because we love you.”
Marbury told reporters Tuesday night when he arrived at his hotel, “I really didn’t know that much about China other than what I’ve seen on TV about Chinese NBA star Yao Ming.”
“I thought this was the right place to be,” he added.
He turned out for the first time with his new team at a game Wednesday. Although he did not play, at halftime he appeared on court dressed in a designer jacket to present gift bags to a group of children. Chinese reporters ran onto the court and mobbed him as the crowd cheered.
Marbury, though, said he is not playing in China for the money. He is here to promote his shoe and apparel brand, called Starbury after his nickname, featuring low-cost sneakers for $15.
The market in China is potentially huge, where the NBA estimates 300 million people play basketball.