Real Reason Shaquille O’Neal Made HOF Case for Stephon Marbury Revealed: “I Asked Him…”

You know someone is special when they get an acknowledgment from Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. This time, 2x NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury got a nod from the Big Aristotle. O’Neal told Marbury that he deserved to be in the Hall of Fame as well. However, it’s not because of his impressive college career or dominance in the CBA, but because of something that Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson had stated during his appearance on Shaq’s podcast.

“The reason I’m saying it now is because I had A.I. (Allen Iverson) on my podcast. And I asked him, you know I kind of went viral one day. Because I said I was scared of Michael Jordan… We asked AI if he was nervous about anybody, and with no hesitation, he said you,” Shaquille O’Neal told Marbury on the latest episode of The Big Podcast.

Iverson, who appeared as a guest on the podcast earlier, was asked to name the toughest player he felt intimidated by, and he named Marbury without any hesitation. This conversation came up as Shaq revealed how he was left stunned to see Marbury’s gigantic statue during a trip to China. The officials in China surprised O’Neal with his own statue as well, but it was nothing compared to the former point guard’s statue. That was Marbury’s impact in China.

While he may not have remained at the required NBA level, Marbury was the best player as soon as he joined the CBA in 2010.

Stephon Marbury’s first CBA championship was celebrated with a statue

After leaving the Boston Celtics in 2009, Marbury began to play for the Shanxi Fenjiu Shares. The turning point for him came in 2011 when he joined the Beijing Ducks. In just one year, the former NBA player was able to lead the Ducks to their first CBA championship and quickly gained traction in the foreign city. And Beijing has a heart of gold when it comes to showing its love and appreciation.

The home arena in Beijing installed a Marbury’s life-sized statue in 2012. The statue features the former NBA player proudly holding the Chinese Basketball Association Trophy. That’s not the only one. Another celebration statue featured him with his two former teammates. Marbury had already been bestowed with one of the biggest honors.

There’s also a Marbury museum that features the player’s jerseys, trophies, and more. ‘My Other Home,’ is a film released in 2017 that chronicles Marbury’s basketball career featuring him as the acting lead. Allen Iverson and Baron Davis are the other stars who made guest appearances in the movie.

Marbury later revealed that he didn’t return to the NBA when the Houston Rockets made an offer. He was glad to have found his other home. “That was not where my mind was. They had just talked about erecting a statue for me and the last thing I was thinking about was playing back in the NBA,” Marbury told Andscape.

The 47-year-old currently serves as the head coach for the Beijing Royal Fighters. Even if Marbury doesn’t get inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, he still had an incredible career and is a basketball icon in China.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.