Who

"Starbury" is the temperamental former Knicks guard, who went from being a highly-touted NYC schoolboy prospect to one of the most reviled athletes in New York City, before leaving the Knicks and joining the Boston Celtics in 2009.

Backstory

Born and raised on Coney Island, Marbury attended Abraham Lincoln High School, where he attracted attention as one of the city's rising young stars (he was featured in Darcy Frey's 1994 book Last Shot) and earned comparisons to former Knicks Mark Jackson and Kenny Anderson. Marbury went on to spend a year in college at Georgia Tech before breaking into the NBA with Minnesota. But he had trouble finding a home in the NBA, first bouncing to the New Jersey Nets to escape Kevin Garnett's shadow in Minnesota, then getting traded to the Phoenix Suns for Jason Kidd in a lopsided deal that singlehandedly revitalized the Nets' fortunes. He came home to the Knicks in a 2004 trade. His initial popularity in the city didn't last long though. After four seasons in New York, the Knicks bought out Marbury's contract in 2009 and left him open to sign with the Boston Celtics as a free agent.

Of note

Despite his considerable talent, Marbury has acquired a reputation as a difficult, selfish, diva-like player on the court. He's never carried a team deep into the playoffs, and the contrasts with the team-oriented point guards who succeeded him in New Jersey (Jason Kidd) and Phoenix (Steve Nash) hasn't reflected well on him.

His behavior off the court hasn't been any better. He feuded viciously with former Knicks coach Larry Brown, who lobbied to have him cut from the U.S. Olympic team in 2004, and watched his unpopularity reach new heights in the '07-'08 season when, in the span of a few weeks in the fall, he confessed to having sex with a Knicks intern, brawled with Isiah Thomas after the coach threatened to bench him, and—the day after his encounter with Thomas—skipped a game in Phoenix.

Legal file

While playing for Phoenix in 2002, Marbury was arrested for DUI. He had a blood alcohol level of .153 percent—nearly twice the legal limit—when he was pulled over for going 75 in a 50 MPH zone. He pled no contest, spent 10 days in jail, and was suspended by the NBA for one game.

On the side

Marbury received some rare positive publicity in 2006 when he announced that his Starbury clothing line would begin selling a sneaker priced at $14.98, in marked contrast to the trend toward $200 basketball shoes. When not alienating Knicks fans, members of the press (or animal rights activists, as was the case when he made statements supporting dogfighting aficionado Michael Vick in 2007), Marbury can often be found rolling with hip hop stars like Ja Rule, Nick Cannon, and Fat Joe.

Personal

He's married to his college sweetheart, LaTasha Frieson. They have two children—Xaviera and Stephon II—and Marbury has another daughter, Stephanie, by another woman. In December 2006, he paid $1.4 million for a 1,167-square-foot apartment in the Hudson Condos on West 60th Street.