One-on-one with Stephon Marbury before his last game

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“At this point, I’ve done all I could do for as long as I could run. And now my body is basically telling me ‘OK',” said Beikong Fly Dragon's former NBA star Stephon Marbury. “I’m happy to be able to say I’m retiring tomorrow,” he said on the eve of his retirement on Sunday.

CGTN Digital went one-on-one with the former NBA All-Star Saturday night to discuss the next chapter in his life after closing out his playing career in Beijing, the Chinese capital where his career had a rebirth.

"I am going to stay in basketball," the 40-year-old said. "I will continue to help build the youth. Mainly staying in basketball and doing the same thing I’ve been doing on the business side."

Marbury has decided to stay in Beijing, an affirmation of the love he has professed for the city over the years.

Basketball superstar Stephon Marbury on the eve of his retirement in Beijing, Saturday, February 10, 2018. / CGTN Digital

The American is often considered a symbol of Beijing's inclusiveness. Locals adore his willingness to respect and blend into the Chinese culture and etiquette, a crucial factor for foreign basketball imports' success in the country.

Love will find a way

Coming to China was not something he ever imagined.

“When I first came here I was just coming here to play basketball. I didn’t know it was going to evolve into all of this. It made it easier to want to live here based upon how I was being treated,” Marbury told CGTN Digital during our visit to his home. “Based upon the different things that were happening; statues, museums. You just don’t leave that type of stuff.”

It is understandable why he wanted to stay in Beijing. After leading the Beijing Shougang Ducks to their first Chinese Basketball Association championship in 2012, the team installed a statue of him outside the stadium. Marbury helped them net two more titles in 2014 and 2015. For that Beijing gave him the key to the city, opened a museum dedicated to his career, and issued a postal stamp in his honor. In 2015, he became the first Western celebrity to be granted a green card, making him a permanent Chinese resident.

With or without the green card, Marbury said he knew he was staying in China one way or another.

“I think from them seeing how I act and felt I think they were like we need to get this guy a green card because he is not going anywhere,” he said.

/ Instagram @starburymarbury

When he failed to reach an agreement last summer with the Beijing Ducks after three championships in four years, he joined the Beikong Fly Dragons, the capital's other CBA team.

In an Instagram post announcing his new team, Marbury said, “I have to put on for the city no matter the team... The fans said 'stay' so I'm staying. They said, 'we will love you no matter where you go'. It's hard to leave that type of love.”

Road to redemption

In 2007, Marbury’s life began to enter a steep downward trajectory following the death of his father and other family members in quick succession. All of this was happening as his 13 season career in the NBA was drawing to a close.

“I was depressed, I was going through a lot of different things in basketball,” he told CGTN Digital. "I had lost some family members. Then my father died. My mom, she was on her deathbed like three weeks later. I wasn’t playing basketball because I was dealing with so much."

Basketball superstar Stephon Marbury on the eve of his retirement in Beijing, Saturday, February 10, 2018 / CGTN Digital

But life started to make an unexpected turn for Marbury.

“Opportunity just came about for me to come and play basketball here," he said of his move to China. "When it was proposed to me about coming to play basketball here, I was like ‘China?’ I didn’t know nothing about China,” he said. “Only thing I knew about China was The Great Wall and Yao Ming.”

After initial reservations and his newfound freedom, Marbury decided to move to China in 2009.

“We started talking more and more and I was just like I’ll give it a try. I’ll go and see. And I did not ever go back,” he said.

Basketball superstar Stephon Marbury on the eve of his retirement in Beijing, Saturday, February 10, 2018 / CGTN Digital

Revival turns to rebirth

His life was back on an upward trajectory.

“Things just completely changed. My mom said 'God can do anything, Stephon. He can give you what your heart desires you just got to be good and be faithful and trust his word',” he said.

Marbury said he has carried her advice with him even in tough times.

“My first year here I loved it based on how I was being treated,” Marbury said. “I landed to about 4,000 or 5,000 people screaming, after being depressed flying from one place where you are going through so much.”

With a string of championships and records in China, he is certainly one of the most decorated and beloved athletes in the country.

He’s got game

/ VCG

CGTN Digital got to witness the city’s adopted son dazzle the crowd during the Fly Dragon’s second home game of the season. There was a stark contrast in his demeanor on and off the court. In the game Marbury displayed high intensity making moves, encouraging teammates and taunting his opposition, but when he was on the sidelines he retreated into a very silent Zen-like manner offering the occasional nod of approval.

“When I’m in a game I am a completely different person. … To win a game it’s challenging and it’s hard,” he told CGTN Digital. “You’ve got to put everything on the line and everything into what it is that you are trying to do.”

Marbury is as big a star off the court as he is on the court in China.

/ Instagram @starburymarbury

He made his acting debut in the film affectionately titled, “My Other Home” which traces his journey from the dark reality of his life in the NBA to the rising dreams of his reprisal in the CBA.

Playing himself earned Marbury the Best New Actor Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in June. That was the first time a foreigner has ever nabbed the honor.

With his 22-year basketball playing career coming to an end, Marbury is mostly looking forward to his next role in life, an everyday Beijing resident.

/ Instagram @starburymarbury