Ex-NBA star and Beijing Ducks leader Stephon Marbury signed a two-year extension with his Chinese basketball team, the player announced on Twitter.
In it, he wrote: I signed a two-year deal with Beijing with the team having the option the 3rd year for me to play or coach.
The day before, July 21, the star also posted a tweet saying he intends to retire in China, stating that his Beijing jersey will be the jersey he will retire and hang in the rafters.
Marbury has been playing with the Ducks since 2011, after he was banned by the New York Knicks. His scuffles with the coaches earned him the moniker "most reviled" athlete in New York. Marbury also turned down a veteran minimum contract with the Boston Celtics amounting to $1.3 million. He called it "disappointing."
Five years ago, his career looked like a dead end and his decision to play overseas proved to be a good decision.
Today, the player endearingly called Starbury has reinvented himself and has become a Chinese celebrity. His team, the Beijing Ducks, won the Chinese Basketball Association championship for the third time this year.
In China, he is more than a basketball star. He was recently named as an environment protection ambassador with the task of promoting a more nature-friendly lifestyle.
"I just basically continue to encourage people to go green, mean taking the subway, putting trashes inside the right cans. All these stuff are important to the environment," Marbury said in an interview.