Stephon Marbury announces foray into esports
This story first appeared on theScore esports
Former NBA point guard Stephon Marbury will announce his entrance to esports on his Weibo, according to a video posted from his account Monday.
"Today I'll announce some exciting news through my personal Weibo," Marbury said in the video. "I decided to march [into the] esports industry to build my own team and recruit players, from my fans, in no time. Looking forward to the journey."
While the video is thin on details, it does point out that an announcement is forthcoming. Given Marbury's strong connections to China — calling him an unprecedented sensation in there would be underselling his popularity — it seems likely that his new team will be based in the region.
In 2010, "Starbury" left the NBA after to break ankles in China, where he has ascended to incredible levels of popularity.
He won three championships with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association; after the first in 2012, a statue of Marbury was erected outside Mastercard Center in Beijing (now called LeSport Center). He opened a museum about his career in Beijing in 2015.
He is one of very few foreigners to become a permanent Chinese resident, and is only the fifth American basketball player to do so.
Marbury is the most recent entry in a continuing saga of basketball investors pulling the trigger on esports. Rick Fox's founding of Echo Fox, Shaq's investment in NRG eSports and the acquisition of Team Dignitas and Apex by the Philadelphia 76ers have all shown that basketball's elite understand the surging popularity of esports.
Josh "Gauntlet" Bury is seriously considering changing his handle to "Josbury." You can find him on Twitter.