In China, NBA's Stephon Marbury is a hit

IN FOSHAN, CHINA He doesn't like Chinese food much, has to fly economy instead of by private jet and makes a tiny fraction of the $20 million he earned each year playing basketball for the New York Knicks.

But after alienating fans, the press and a string of coaches back home in America, NBA bad-boy Stephon Marbury is happy to be in a country where people clamor for his autograph. His new Chinese team, the Foshan Dragon Lions, doesn't win much - it's now fourth from the bottom of the league - yet local fans and media still applaud the biggest American name in Chinese basketball.

Foreigners, especially former NBA players, are "definitely beneficial to our league" because they "draw fans and attract sponsorship," Bai Xilin, a senior official of Chinese basketball's governing body, said at a news conference in December, the start of the new season.

Marbury won't comment on how much he earns with the Foshan Dragon Lions, saying only that "it's not $20 million." But his NBA-honed talents, which far outshine those of his Chinese teammates, could bring a hefty payoff from a line of sneakers he's hoping will take off in China.
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"I don't care about his reputation in the U.S. I only care about his performance on the basketball court," said Lin Weichen, a basketball student at an all-sports high school in Foshan. "For us, it is a rare and precious experience to watch an NBA player play basketball."

The Dragon Lions' head coach, Jay Humphries, another recruit from the NBA, said he's heard all the stories of Marbury's past feuds and outbursts but has had "no issues at all" with his star player and praised Marbury's team spirit, something New Yorkers never did. "Maybe he has matured," said Humphries.

Marbury's time in China hasn't been entirely trouble-free. When he arrived last year, he played for a team in a grimy coal-mining center in the north of the country. But a partnership he initially described as "nothing but love" soured badly after a few months. He left the team late last year and moved to Foshan.

Nonetheless, Marbury thinks his own future and that of his sport lie here in China. "There is dark in everything. Nothing is all light," he said. But China's size and growth show "they are doing something right, and it ain't the dark side," he said. "This is by far the future. There are strength in numbers."

"I'm here to play basketball, and I'm here to build my brand," he said.