Stephon Marbury Needs to Stuff it

You know, the more I think about New York Knicks embattled point guard, Stephon Marbury, the sorrier I feel for the enigmatic Marbury, who has unwittingly stepped into the role of the NBA's latest poster-child for selfish, me-first whiners who care more about their personal stat lines than their team's won-loss record.

Now, I have seen a lot in my nearly four decades of sports viewing, both good and bad, but if there is one thing I will not put up with, is guys who openly quit on their teams and teammates.

Oh, we've all seen it before. From Vince Carter's pathetic Toronto Raptors episode to the current Randy Moss state of affairs with the Oakland Raiders, to Marbury's all-out feud with former head coach, Larry Brown last season, many athletes have "quit" on their teammates because of a multitude of varying reasons.

However, it's one thing to quit on your teammates, but to come out and publicly acknowledge it - and then to try and justify it - makes me sick to my stomach, not to mention fighting mad. Okay, okay, with my fighting days firmly behind me, I'll just stick to feeling nauseous every time I read about one of these head cases.

This past week, Marbury make himself look like a babbling buffoon when he came out with comments about how he is now passing the basketball because he wants to as opposed to last season when it was Brown who wanted him to do the same - and play like a genuine point guard.

Personally, I've never really cared for Marbury either on the court or off, but these recent revelations have sunken Marbury to an amazingly low level, both in the eyes of many hoops fans - and some of his teammates I suspect.
"It's different ... I'm doing these things by choice," said Marbury recently, referring to the difference in his play, and his passing in particular, from last season to this one.

I also find it humorous that two teams improved immediately after they traded away Marbury - an not making many more changes to their respective rosters - or did you forget that the Phoenix Suns were instantly transformed after picking up free agent point guard, Steve Nash and letting Marbury go.

All Nash has done is become the league's two-time reigning MVP, while Marbury has continued to "get his" while routinely making an early exit following the regular season. The New Jersey Nets also improved immediately after getting Jason Kidd for Marbury following the 2000-01 season.

Finally, I want to add that it is quite ironic that Marbury is now playing for a head coach in Isiah Thomas, who was everything in his playing days that Marbury should be trying to emulate, but will never become.

Thomas was undeniably a great scorer at the point guard position and put on what I consider one of the greatest postseason performances of all-time against the Los Angeles Lakers in game seven of the 1988 Finals, but Thomas was also an excellent - and willing - passer who knew how to make his teammates better and realized that he would have to tone down his offense a little when he teamed up scorers like Mark Aguire, Vinnie Johnson and Joe Dumars.

Unfortunately, this is a lesson that Marbury never learned - and apparently - still doesn't want to learn, even at this late stage in his career - and it's exactly why Marbury has never won a single postseason round in 10 years and is never going to be labeled a "winner."

Here is a look at Marbury's career averages.

CAREER AVERAGES
REBOUNDS
Year Team MPG FG% 3P% FT% Off Def Tot APG SPG BPG TO A/TO PF PPG
1996-97 MIN 34.7 .408 .354 .727 0.8 1.9 2.7 7.8 1.0 0.3 3.1 2.5 159 15.8
1997-98 MIN 38.0 .415 .313 .731 0.7 2.1 2.8 8.6 1.3 0.1 3.1 2.8 222 17.7
1998-99 MIN 36.7 .408 .205 .724 0.9 2.5 3.4 9.3 1.6 0.3 3.1 3.0 44 17.7
1998-99 NJ 39.8 .439 .367 .832 0.6 1.9 2.6 8.7 1.0 0.1 3.5 2.5 81 23.4
1999-00 NJ 38.9 .432 .283 .813 0.8 2.4 3.2 8.4 1.5 0.2 3.6 2.3 195 22.2
2000-01 NJ 38.2 .441 .328 .790 0.8 2.3 3.1 7.6 1.2 0.1 2.9 2.6 150 23.9
2001-02 PHO 38.9 .442 .286 .781 0.9 2.3 3.2 8.1 0.9 0.2 3.5 2.3 186 20.4
2002-03 PHO 40.0 .439 .301 .803 0.7 2.6 3.2 8.1 1.3 0.2 3.2 2.5 200 22.3
2003-04 NY 39.1 .431 .321 .833 0.8 2.3 3.1 9.3 1.4 0.1 3.2 2.9 98 19.8
2003-04 PHO 41.6 .432 .314 .795 0.6 2.9 3.4 8.3 1.9 0.1 2.9 2.9 74 20.8
2004-05 NY 40.0 .462 .354 .834 0.6 2.4 3.0 8.1 1.5 0.1 2.8 2.9 186 21.7
2005-06 NY 36.5 .451 .317 .755 0.4 2.5 2.9 6.4 1.1 0.1 2.6 2.4 143 16.3
2006-07 NY 37.2 .391 .435 .750 0.6 2.1 2.7 4.7 1.1 0.1 2.0 2.3 26 12.4
Totals: 38.5 .435 .321 .788 0.7 2.3 3.1 8.1 1.3 0.1 3.1 2.6 1764 20.1
Eric Williams is a sports columnist for the Philadelphia Sunday Sun and nationally syndicated freelance writer who can be heard every Wednesday at 3:15 eastern on www.BetUSradio.com. Contact Eric at eklass66@yahoo.com.