Stephon Marbury’s brief Nets career was nothing short of impressive. He earned All-NBA honors for the first time in his career. Marbury followed that up with his first NBA All-Star nod.
But, ultimately, the Nets never made the playoffs while the Brooklyn son ran the point.
After the 2000-01 season, New Jersey traded Marbury to the Phoenix Suns for Jason Kidd. The Suns didn’t make the playoffs in Marbury’s first season in Phoenix, whereas the Nets made it to the NBA Finals in Kidd’s first season with the franchise — and they made it that far again the next year.
Why was there a huge shift in success? Marbury won’t say it’s because Kidd was better, even though he respects the fellow retired Nets guard. Instead, Marbury told Brandon Robinson of Heavy that it had a more to do with the overall health of the team:
When I played in New Jersey everybody got hurt. And then when he got traded for me, everybody got healthy. Literally, guys were really hurt with real injuries. So I was in a tough spot but at the same time, I didn’t allow that to stop me from going out and hoopin’. I hooped every night.
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