There aren’t two ex-NBA-ers that can quite catch attention like Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury. Now, when you throw in a NBA Legends Tour in China, and the two playing against one another, that’s a whole lotta crazy.
NiuBBall has the complete details
Iverson is currently in China for the next two weeks as part of an NBA Legends Tour that will play seven exhibition games in six cities across central and southern China. Shorty after getting on the ground from the U.S. yesterday morning, he fielded questions from Chinese reporters and when when asked if he’d consider playing in the CBA next season, he replied: “Why not?”
“I think [Iverson] will be rejuvenated if he played in China,” Marbury said on his Sina Weibo account (Chinese Twitter). “He would love the fans here if he played basketball here. I hope he can feel the love when he plays here in the coming games.”
Besides Iverson and Marbury, the tour includes Dennis Rodman, who also landed with Iverson in Shanghai yesterday, as well as Clyde Drexler and Shawn Kemp. The Legends team will play the first three games against Marbury and the Beijing Ducks, the first of which is tomorrow night in Cixi, Zhejiang province. They’ll then play their next three against the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons, who lost to Beijing in the semi-finals this season, before playing the Chinese U-23 Olympic National Team in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, for the finale.
Marbury has had exponential success in China with selling his Starbury brand and there’s a huge market of basketball fans, an estimated 300+ million. It’s an ideal place for a player that has slim to no chance of getting back in the NBA. Also, China fans love a headcase. It’s really the best of both worlds and will help feed that ego that is Allen Iverson.
H/T NiuBBALL
