Stephon Marbury receives citizen status

Volunteers prepare for Youth Olympic Games

Color Run race held in Dongguan

However, he soon got tangled in public feuds with then head coach Isiah Thomas, who allegedly hid from Marbury the news that his father Don suffered a heart attack in the crowd during a game on Dec 2, 2007.

Don Marbury passed away after the game and his son was shattered by his father's death. He appeared on a live-stream website, weeping uncontrollably and eating Vaseline in July 2009.

He had suffered the humiliation of being called the "most reviled athlete in town" by the New York Daily News, during his stint with the New York Knicks.

"I was dealing with a lot when I was at the New York Knicks. I was really like going crazy (after my father died)," Marbury says.

"The way I was treated in America, it helped better me. If I hadn't have gone through what I went through back home, I wouldn't have been able to receive such a high honor here."

While Marbury was considering quitting from the game, an e-mail from the CBA club Shanxi Brave Dragons provided a chance to start again with a clean slate. Marbury hesitated but accepted, and his successful China adventure since 2010 has proven it was a wise decision.

"It's just a different world here, the peace, the love and the rich culture. Coming here, I was exposed to something that I needed for my life to continue," Marbury says of China's impact on him.

"Without those people (in America) telling you I was that type of person, no one here had any judgment toward me. Not being judged from baggage I created somewhere else, and not being treated the way I was treated there, how can you not embrace that?

"It's easy to do, I just took it in."

Related:Q&A with Stephon Marbury