Upon his long-hyped return to the Garden after being banned by Isiah Thomas, Stephon Marbury was greeted by a media circus in the Knicks locker room as he spoke emotionally about his love for the organization, praised owner James Dolan in what looked like an obvious kiss-up, and saluted the fans.
Marbury, who’s rehabbing from ankle surgery and was wearing a peach-checkered jacket, did not mention Thomas by name once as their feud could not have been more evident. Marbury also confirmed The Post’s report he won’t make it back to game action this season because of the complicated nature of his Jan. 22 ankle surgery.
In his first appearance since the surgery, Marbury said in a locker room overflowing with 40 media members, “I want to be back here more than anything. I love New York. I love the fans. Our fans are the best.
“I pray to God I will,” Marbury added. “I love New York. It’s the only place I want to be at. This is it. It’s not too many players when they played on other teams they were a fan of another team. I honestly and truthfully can say when I was in Minnesota, I always spoke how I felt about New York. For me to finish my career here, bad time or good times, I think it means a lot to be able to do that.”
At this morning’s shootaround, Thomas gave Marbury a little more respect when talking about next season, saying “He has a contract next year.” Last week, Thomas did not mention Marbury’s name when talking about the backcourt and saying the team needed to add another point guard.
“It bothered me,” Marbury said. “It bothered me a lot. I know where my heart is at and I know what I want to do. I can’t speak for what someone else is saying, or how they feel.”
The Post reported last week Marbury had been instructed by Thomas not to attend home games and was under a gag order from the organization. Thomas told the media Monday that Marbury would be at that night’s game but he didn’t show. The Post reported that Marbury stayed away because Thomas never personally invited him and was under the impression he still wasn’t welcome.
Asked if he was banned, Marbury said, “I got no comment to that.”