"Starbury" To Play Basketball In China

Sports News - January 18th, 2010 - Written By Bryan

Bonzi Wells was nice. But the real money is in a recognizable face who's game is nearly surpassed by his penchant for controversy.

The Chinese Basketball Association agreed to make Stephon Marbury it's newest member on Monday, signing him to a deal with Shanxi. Marbury has been out of basketball since the end of last season, when he was a reserve for the Boston Celtics. His off-court saga with the New York Knicks has made him a global entity in the basketball world, and Shanxi officials agreed that his signing would likely help boost ticket sales. Shanxi is in 15th place in a league of 17 and also added it's desire to compete for the league title.

"The aim of signing Marbury is to pay back our fans and try to win more games in the rest of the season," Shanxi boss Wang Xingjiang told ESPN/

Americans have typically done well in the league. Wells, who was a wanderer in the NBA, scored 50 points as a member of Shanxi last year and was one of the team's best players.

But he was cut from the team when he returned to the team late from a vacation.

Marbury's toughest task will be the lifestyle in the CBA, which has strict discipline guidelines and a style of basketball that is more team-oriented than the NBA. Even in the run-and-gun American league, Marbury was seen as a bit of a rogue point guard, who's shoot-first mentality became divisive in the locker room.

At the beginning of the 2008-09 season, Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni refused to play Marbury, and the ensuing dispute escalated to the point where the team eventually asked him to stay away from the arena. New York offered to fork over his entire salary if he agreed to not play, and eventually came to a mutual agreement to cut the star free.

That's when he found a home in Boston, and tried to restore his image on the Celtics' bench.

Marbury made the 2001 and 2003 NBA All-Star game, and has over 16,000 career points.