Stephon Xavier Marbury was born on February 20, 1977 in Brooklyn, New York, to Mabel and Don Marbury. Mabel was a daycare worker and Don bounced between a variety of jobs as a manual laborer. Stephon had three older brothers, Eric, Donnie and Norman, and twin sisters Marcia and Stephanie. It was Stephanie, 12 years old when her little brother was born, who got to name Stephon. In return, she promised to look after him as he grew up, taking some of the child-rearing pressure off Mabel. Stephanie was big for her age, and when she took Stephon around the neighborhood, most people assumed she was his mom. The Marburys had one more son after Stephon—Moses—and also welcomed an orphaned cousin, Jamel Thomas, who was Stephon’s age.

The Marburys lived in the Coney Island Houses project, at the end of four subway lines in Brooklyn. To many, the development was nowhere land, and few paths led out. Basketball was the currency of the Marbury family. Stephon’s three older brothers came of age as the center of the city’ hoops world shifted from Long Island City to Coney Island.

Eric, nicknamed “Sky Dog,” was a small forward who earned a scholarship to Georgia a couple of years after

on was born and played with Dominique Wilkins. He failed to graduate, then was cut when he tried out for the Clippers. Donnie, nicknamed “Sky Pup,” was a 6-3 guard with a remarkable shot. He led the Southwest Conference in scoring with Texas A&M in 1986, but went undrafted. Norman, nicknamed “Jou-Jou,” was one of the best point guards anyone in Brooklyn had ever seen. He blew a scholarship to Tennessee when he tanked his SATs and never got back on track.

The brothers passed down their gifts to Stephon—Eric’s toughness and nose for the basket, Donnie’s deft shooting and Norman’s ballhandling prowess. Stephon’s father, well-schooled in the cruel realities of inner-city basketball, carefully administered his son’s career.

As soon as he could walk, Stephon was dribbling a basketball. As soon as he could reach the rim, he was playing at the local playground (aka The Garden) and running the steps of his 14-story building to build up his strength and stamina. At age nine, Stephon was putting on halftime shooting exhibitions at nearby Abraham Lincoln High School. By age 11, he was touted as the world’s best sixth grader by the Hoop Scoop recruiting newsletter. And at 13 Stephon was so good that when he was discovered sneaking into a camp for high-school basketball prospects, the directors let him play.

Besides his outrageous talent, Stephon was outrageously cocky. He walked through his world like he owned it, demanding whatever he needed and insulting those who he considered weak. In youth league games he would scream at opposing coaches, demanding they put someone on the floor who could guard him. In games at the Garden, where crowds gathered to watch him, he was treated like royalty, even by the drug dealers who held sway over day-to-day life at the Coney Island Houses.

When it came time to choose a high school, he chose Lincoln, like his brothers, where he wore the family’s traditional #3. Other city schools recruited him, showering him with shoes, equipment and other gifts—often at the insistence of his father, who knew how the game off-the-court was played. Later, Don held what amounted to an auction of Stephon among AAU summer teams. The winner was Lou D’Almeida’s Gauchos. D’Almeida was an expert at keeping the Marbury’s flush without violating NCAA rules or jeopardizing Stephon’s amateur status.

Other coaches—college coaches—were less

was so good that when he was discovered sneaking into a camp for high-school basketball prospects, the directors let him play.

Besides his outrageous talent, Stephon was outrageously cocky. He walked through his world like he owned it, demanding whatever he needed and insulting those who he considered weak. In youth league games he would scream at opposing coaches, demanding they put someone on the floor who could guard him. In games at the Garden, where crowds gathered to watch him, he was treated like royalty, even by the drug dealers who held sway over day-to-day life at the Coney Island Houses.

When it came time to choose a high school, he chose Lincoln, like his brothers, where he wore the family’s traditional #3. Other city schools recruited him, showering him with shoes, equipment and other gifts—often at the insistence of his father, who knew how the game off-the-court was played. Later, Don held what amounted to an auction of Stephon among AAU summer teams. The winner was Lou D’Almeida’s Gauchos. D’Almeida was an expert at keeping the Marbury’s flush without violating NCAA rules or jeopardizing Stephon’s amateur status.

Other coaches—college coaches—were less judicious. At least one sent a recruiting letter to the Marburys when Stephon was in junior high, while others engaged “street agents” who attempted to steer Stephon’s interest in their direction.

Stephon dazzled as a freshman for Lincoln High, exhibiting skills far beyond what varsity coach Bobby Hartstein had dared imagine. Hartstein had sweated out the summer, as rival coaches wined and dined the Marburys and made extravagant promises. But he had the inside track thanks to family tradition, and promised Stephon that he would stay with him all four years no matter what offers he received, and help him navigate through the recruiting process.

Lincoln blew out most of its opponents during the 1992-93 season, with Stephon and friend Russell Thomas leading the way. The buzz was that Stephon was the real deal, and then some—by the far the best Marbury, not to mention one of the top freshmen in NYC history. In the classroom, Stephon paid attention but his schoolwork was nothing to brag about. Considering the academic failings of his brothers, this was a concern throughout his years at Lincoln.




Toward the end of his freshman year, Stephon was the subject of an article in Harper’s Magazine that painted him as being arrogant, ill-mannered and narcissistic to the point of potential self-destruction. His family was offended by writer Darcy Frey’s portrayal of their clan, and further angered when the article gave birth to a book, The Last Shot. Stephon’s reaction was to do a 180 and reinvent himself as a humble, focused, self-assured “professional.” He stopped talking trash, became more serious about his academics, and began to take a long-term view of his basketball career.

Stephon’s game continued to evolve. He closed out his high-school career averaging more than 28 points per game and 9 assists. In 1995, he led Lincoln to the city championship, something his older brothers never did. All the while, Stephon was the focal point of an intense, no-holds-barred recruiting war. The winner was Georgia Tech.

Coach Bobby Cremins won out because of his work with Brooklyn’s Kenny Anderson, who played two seasons for the Yellow Jackets before signing a lucrative NBA contract. The runner-up was Syracuse. Stephon’s father and brothers pushed hard for him to go with Jim Boeheim, who had helped to shape Coney Island legend Pearl Washington’s college