A DIFFICULT JOURNEY
Beijing wasn't Marbury's first stop in China. His first CBA club was in Shanxi and then he went to Foshan, before he found true success in Beijing.
"The CBA was harder for me as a foreigner," Marbury said.
Foreign players play important roles in almost every CBA team. They are expected to score, to rebound, to assist, to defend and to lead the team to victory. Last season, the top 20 scorers in the CBA came from outside China.
"The rules are different and a lot more is expected from the foreign players. In the NBA, you have a variety of different guys that can do well every night. In CBA, you have no choice. You have to play well every night."
Marbury enjoyed many memorable moments both in the NBA and the CBA. He entered the NBA in 1996 as the fourth overall pick, and became an NBA All-Star with the Phoenix Suns in 2001 and 2003.
"My most memorable moment in the NBA was when I got drafted on the first day," said Marbury.
"And my best memory in the CBA was winning the first championship. It took me a long time to win it. So when I won that championship, I did something that a lot of people said that I wasn't capable of doing."
Facing his next challenge as a coach, Marbury plans to raise the training of the Royal Fighters to the championship level. "My short-term plans and my long-term plans are to train like a championship team, practice like a championship team, think like a championship team, and then let the results fall where they are supposed to fall," said Marbury.
"I think that's the best way to go about trying to win in the CBA."
BEIJING, HOME
Marbury has been living in Beijing for almost a decade. He overcame his culture shock in his early CBA career, and turned himself to a Beijing resident.
"This is my home," said Marbury about what Beijing means to him.
"This is where I live. It's a city that is supportive of sports. What I loved about Beijing from when we first lost in the CBA, when I saw all those people outside at the train station, I was amazed and shocked. That gave me so much motivation for the following year to come back stronger and to come back better."
Marbury knows Chinese basketball very well. In the one-year gap before his signing with the Royal Fighters, he did a lot of youth training work and saw great potential in Chinese children.
"The Chinese kids, they love basketball. That's why I'm really so hopeful for the future. They worked so hard and they trained for hours and hours. What I'm trying to do is get them to train smart."
Marbury says the CBA is a young league and has much room to improve, noting that physicality is one of the main differences between players from America and China.
"I think the next generation of players, because of the love and the passion that they have for the game, I think that's going to continue to propel," Marbury said.
In the latter half of 2019, the FIBA World Cup takes place across eight cities in China. Marbury says the United States are the favorites but adds that there will be strong challenges from Spain, Argentina and Australia.
"China? I believe that they will get out of their group."
