Stephon Marbury is a retired 13-year NBA veteran, two-time All-NBA guard and a legend in the Chinese Basketball Association.
For all that Marbury is, he is apparently not a fan of LeBron James.
Marbury, who played alongside James at the 2004 Olympics, was courtside for Team USA's gold medal win at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite watching James' MVP performance up close, Marbury has been one of the future Hall of Famer's biggest detractors in the aftermath.
Since Team USA's gold medal win, Marbury has gone on a social media campaign to advocate that Stephen Curry was more deserving of MVP, claimed James should not be "mentioned in the same breath" as Michael Jordan and saidJames is "not strong enough" to acknowledge him.
What gives? Marbury's beef with James might not have begun at the 2004 Olympics but the two did feud nearly 20 years ago. Here's more on the history between Marbury and James and how it may have impacted where they find themselves today.
MORE:Why LeBron James won Olympics MVP over Stephen Curry
LeBron James vs. Stephon Marbury beef, explained
The beef between James and Marbury took on new life after the gold medal game. Marbury stood with Carmelo Anthony, who James made a beeline to celebrate with. After hugging Anthony, James seems to purposely ignore Marbury.
pic.twitter.com/NOnW04ItuT https://t.co/kpXr2RiuUC
— CornellG (@CornellGunter_) August 13, 2024See AlsoHow LeBron James became King of the Internet: A King's Reign podcastLeBron James' boasts about his basketball intellect have become a favorite NBA world meme
Over the past several years, Marbury has taken numerous shots at James, including his 2018 assertion that Zion Williamson "is way better than LeBron, it's not even close ... He don't have to touch a basketball and he's better than LeBron James. I said that."
The origin of the feud seemingly dates back to March 2007, when James and Marbury engaged in a war of words about their respective sneaker endorsers.
At the time, Marbury had a groundbreaking endorsem*nt deal with retailer Steve & Barry's that saw his signature Starbury sneaker retail for $14.98. James shared his stance on potentially having a discount line as he and the Cavaliers prepared to take on Marbury's Knicks.
"Me being with Nike, we hold our standards high," James said. "And we do a great job of putting out great merchandise, great shoes. It does come with a price that is pretty high, but at the same time you’re getting great quality for it.”
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James' words made it to Marbury, who was strong in his response, though it may not have aged well.
“I laughed,” Marbury said of James' comments. “I’d rather own than be owned. When he retires, he’s not going to own anything.
“I don’t think [James] did his homework,” he continued. “We’re putting out the same stuff he’s putting out, just at an affordable price. But I understand that he’s got to say that because it’s part of the business.”
Eight years after the feud with Marbury, James signed a lifetime deal with Nike reportedly worth $1 billion. James has a hand in several business ventures, which include ownership stakes in multiple sports franchises.
As Marbury watched from the sideline, James debuted a gold-medal version of the 22nd sneaker from his main signature line with the brand. The beef may have begun before the sneaker back-and-forth, but time has shown that in that instance, Marbury might have chosen the wrong stance to be adamant about.
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What did Stephon Marbury say about LeBron James?
X account TheDunkCentral posted three quotes from Marbury about James, each of which generated millions of views on the social media platform. Marbury advocated that Stephen Curry was more deserving of MVP in the 2024 Olympics and claimed James should not be "mentioned in the same breath" as Michael Jordan, among others.
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 13, 2024"I get LeBron is the King to many, but let me say this: when you give him what he doesn’t deserve, you basically say that because of what he’s done, he should receive such a high honor on the biggest stage. No, he didn’t earn it this time."
- Stephon Marbury on LeBron winning… pic.twitter.com/9Wu6h3txEN
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 13, 2024“Shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as MJ.”
- Stephon Marbury on LeBron James pic.twitter.com/X9JA0MwQJR
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 13, 2024Stephon Marbury says LeBron James needs to surpass Kobe Bryant before being included in the same conversation as Michael Jordan
“People wanna rank Jordan? Jordan shouldn’t even be ranked. It should be Kobe, then LeBron and then you can pick guys after that. There’s just no… pic.twitter.com/bJ95eC0zcs
Marbury has since responded to many James fans on his personal X account, defending his takes.
