Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett were poised to do great things with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Marbury’s playmaking and scoring abilities perfectly complemented Garnett’s defensive instincts and mobility.
Some deemed they were the second coming of John Stockton and Karl Malone — but with more sparkle.
The Timberwolves patiently waited for their development. When they became teammates in the 1996-97 season, they were still raw but showed great potential as a one-two punch. In 1998, the Wolves offered KG a massive $126 million deal.
The contract was reportedly one of the deals that triggered the 1999 lockout. As a result, the most the Wolves could offer Marbury was a $70.9 million extension and this, according to most analysts, was where the problem started. Stephon reportedly wanted better equity, given he was one of the team’s superstars.
Trash talk
Marbury was traded to the New Jersey Nets, where he became an All-Star for the first time in his career. The team never made the playoffs, but he became known as a formidable point guard in the NBA, especially after his 50-point outburst on February 13, 2001, against the defending champs, the Los Angeles Lakers.
After two seasons in New Jersey, Starbury was traded to the Phoenix Suns, where he became teammates with a young Amar’e Stoudemire. By then, most people had moved on from his feud with KG. But Marbury suddenly declared Stoudemire was way better than Garnett and said, “It’s like Michael Jordan and Mario Elie.”
Garnett, already a perennial MVP candidate then, responded, “This is about Steph being jealous again. … I’m on his mind like a girl.”
Regrets?
KG’s clapback may have been vitriolic, but he claimed the feud wasn’t as serious as most people thought. Whether it was ego and jealousy that pulled them apart was all a matter of the past. Garnett’s focus at that time was to be the best player. He moved on from the saga and wanted to focus on the present.
As for Marbury, there were still tinges of regret inside him. His mother reminded him of his partnership with the power forward and how they existed seamlessly on the floor. Off-court issues aside, the two were meant to be great.
“My Mom said, ‘Stephon – ain’t nobody like you and Kevin. You guys got the best chemistry.’ He knew what I wanted to do, I knew what he wanted to do,” Marbury said. “We just had that vibe, had that chemistry on the court. You know, when you playin’, you don’t have to think. We clicked right away.”
It’s one of the great what-ifs in the NBA. Over the years, we’ve seen big guy-little guy combos propel NBA teams to multiple championships. There’s Magic and Kareem, Kobe and Shaq. Stockton-Malone, Nash-Stoudemire, or CP3-Blake may not have won a title, but they have won plenty of games together.
It goes to show how difficult it is to succeed in the NBA. Possessing world-class talent is just a small part of the equation. Chemistry on and off the court is imperative. Of course, the biggest thing is ego, which must be tempered properly, or else the whole team will be in ruins.