On the Road With Stephon Marbury, Who Was Once Under 24-Hour Scuba Diver Surveillance

Photographs: Getty Images; Collage: Gabe Conte

Few people on earth travel as often as professional athletes. With On the Road, the GQ Sports Travel Questionnaire, they’re weighing in on everything from room service to flying comfortably to their favorite chain restaurants.

Stephon Marbury has seen some shit. From his childhood in Coney Island, to getting name-checked in Spike Lee’s basketball joint He Got Game, to accruing all the fame and riches (and signature sneakers) that come with a 13-year NBA career. But none of that compared to what happened after Marbury played his last game in the NBA, when he decamped for the Chinese Basketball Association and promptly reached deity status.

Marbury won three championships as a player with the Beijing Ducks before becoming a decorated coach, earning himself a statue, a postage stamp, and his own museum in China. The man they call Starbury is back in New York for now, where he’s been a regular sight at Madison Square Garden for this epic Knicks-Pacers playoff series—prompting memories from his own youth watching Reggie Miller duke it out with Patrick Ewing.

When he’s not cheering on the Knicks, Marbury is working with the wearable tech brand Chamelo on some cutting-edge eyewear. His sunglasses come with a multitude of technological innovations—you can control them via app—and also have four different hues in their color-changing lenses. “You can take phone calls, and you can play music,” Marbury told GQ. “AirPods? That’s over with.” With a life that’s taken him halfway around the world and back, Marbury had a lot to share for this edition of On the Road.

We’ve seen you sitting underneath the basket at these Knick playoff games. How much love do you feel when you walk into the Garden?

What people saw, that’s the only way I know how to express myself. I keep hearing people saying I was so into the game. I’m like, “Why wouldn’t I be into the game? I’m from New York.” People keep forgetting. I’m homegrown! Most of the people on the staff, they’re from somewhere else. I’m a real New York Knicks fan. How do you forget that?

Did you grow up hating the Indiana Pacers?

Hate is a strong word. I didn’t like them, let’s put it like that. It’s understandable, because they don’t like us. I’m perfectly fine with that. I’ll just say, I believe we’re going to win the series.

You were coaching in China as recently as last year, is that correct?

Yes, I was.

Are you back-and-forth between there and the States?

I still live there! I live in Beijing. I’ve been living there for 14 years. When I went to China, it was a really tough time in my life. I was depressed, I was stressed out from basketball. It just wasn’t going my way, and I was dealing with a lot of different things.

China played a big role in revitalizing my life and helping me get back on track. It helped me rebuild myself internally, bringing peace to my mind, my body, and my spirit. When they build statues of you, it’s kind of hard to leave! You know what I’m saying?

What was the plan originally? When you first went, how long did you think you’d stay?

To be honest, I had no expectations for how things were going to go. I was like, I’m coming. I’m leaving myself completely vulnerable to love. I experienced something brand new, and here I am 14 years later.

Were you scared at all?

I had no intimidation factor, because of where I was in my life. I needed something new. A lot of people talk about the food. Yeah, that’s intimidating, because you’re not used to seeing that type of cuisine. You don’t know how it’s prepped and prepared. Once you start eating things that you like—and keep continuing to try, and to learn—you just melt into the pot. It’s like when you come to New York. If you’re not from New York, you either melt right in, or you leave.

There’s no, I’mma try to figure it out. You either like New York, or you don’t like New York! That’s pretty much how it go down. For me, being able to have this experience of being a foreigner in a completely different place—this wasn’t like moving to Puerto Rico. It ain’t like that. It’s different.

Did you feel welcomed immediately, or was that something you had to earn?

When I landed for the first time, there was like 3,000 people waiting for me, screaming about how happy they were that I was coming to play basketball. I was depressed, had just gotten off a 15-hour flight, and this is the first time I’d ever been to China. I looked at the guy I was with and was like, “Yo, this is crazy! When are we going to land?”

You know, you’re aggravated, you’re agitated. Going through that cycle of life, and then getting there and seeing all these people at the airport, I was like, “Who are all these people here for?” They’re here for you. “Hell no!” My face just lit up. Instantly, all love. From then to now, it’s been nothing but love.

The depression you’ve mentioned from that time, was that related to basketball?

Personal and basketball. I lost my aunt, my coach that taught all my brothers, and then a week later lost my father while running up and down the court in the Garden. Then my mom got taken to the hospital two weeks later and was almost on her deathbed. I was dealing with all of that, and basketball wasn’t going well. I was trying to just have a peace of mind.

A lot of people don’t know that. But now it can be spoken about because times have—the moment has changed, I shouldn’t say time, because time doesn’t exist—but the moment has changed. At first it was just an experience. Every game was completely sold out. I’m looking at the fans and it’s all Chinese people. I’m like…this is different. At the same time, it’s still basketball. The way they cheer, the way they approach going to the games is different, but that type of energy is cool.

When I went to Beijing and we won the championship…I can’t even explain it. You see how New York is buzzing right now? Okay, how many people are in New York? Six million? It’s 30 million people in Beijing! That’s a whole other stratosphere. And it was the first one, first year I got there. We win the championship, then we lose the next year, then we go back-to-back. We won three in four years. I try to explain to people—imagine winning three out of four championships in New York City.

How’s your Mandarin?

My Mandarin is so bad. I speak a little bit. Ni hao. I can manage. If I need to order some food, I can call the waiter. I got a little bit.

When you were in the NBA, what were your favorite road cities?

I always liked playing against the Lakers. I’d bet that in all my games against the Lakers, I had pretty high numbers. It was always fun playing in LA.

Was that because of the city and the atmosphere, or because you were playing Kobe?

It’s just LA. It’s just the Lakers. You’re playing against royalty.

NBA players seem to really love Toronto, as well. What’s up with that?

Toronto is dope. The girls are pretty, too.

When you came into the league with Minnesota, you were playing with a very young Kevin Garnett. Was KG always like that? Is the guy we see now the same guy you saw when he was 19?

Oh yeah, that’s Kevin. You gotta think, Kevin has been looking down at people for a long time. You know how people are when they’re bigger and taller than you. He just be talking.

Was he on the Olympic team with you in 2004?

No. That was an amazing time. For our country, there was a war going on. We were living on the Queen Mary [ocean liner]. It was just sleep, eat, go to practice, play. We couldn’t really go nowhere because of everything that was going on. It was like, heavily guarded. We had scuba divers doing 24-hour surveillance underneath the boat!

I was going to ask if you got swarmed when you were walking around Greece, but it doesn’t sound like you were able to do that at all?

Nah, we didn’t even stay in the village! Literally, we lived on a boat.

Do you think that affected your play?

Of course it affected our play! We were sleeping in little beds. I would have rather been in the village, for real. At least I would have had access to other people. We were completely alienated.

When we lost, it was like, “Oh, the world is getting better at basketball!” The Olympics is a world event, and it was a good time for someone else to win. It showcased some of the Argentina players who beat us, like Manu Ginobili, and they had some guys who played for the Rockets and San Antonio. I had played against Ginobili and all them when we were 14 years old, at the Junior Olympics. The game we beat them was a war. The way I look at it now, having coached overseas and seeing FIBA evolve, it’s beautiful.

What does Stephon Marbury look for in a hotel room?

If it’s clean. That’s the first thing. Super clean gets a thumbs-up from me. If I don’t see no dirt in the corners, no dust, I’m gravy. If I see all that, I’m like, “I need a new room. I’ll wait.” The amenities, of course, I like all of that. I like everything that the most wealthy person would like.

What are the major differences between American hotels and hotels abroad?

Our hotels [in America] will charge you for a bigger room, but it’s not really a bigger room! In China, some of the hotel rooms look like apartments, and it’s way cheaper! It’s crazy. If you go to Beijing—or anywhere in China—just ask me. That’s a serious trip when you go do that. You gotta know somebody that knows, and if you know a foreign person that knows things, that makes it even better. And I’m one of the best people to tell you.

“I want people to understand that China doesn’t view this as over with. It’s not.”

What’s your favorite Chinese food?

My favorite food is hot pot. It’s clean. It’s just boiled water, and the main ingredient is sauce. You can add garlic, peppers, whatever you want to put inside of it. The vegetables, the Kobe beef, it’s fresh.

One of my favorite things about being overseas is seeing how nice their fast food restaurants are. Have you experienced that in China? What is a Chinese McDonald’s like?

I have, in my younger years. I don’t really eat fast food, though. I predominantly eat Chinese food. I don’t eat McDonald’s. That’s a no-no. I ate a McDonald’s sandwich out there one day and had to throw it all up. It was disgusting. I don’t know what the hell that was, but it’s not happening again.

Originally Appeared on GQ

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