Let the playoffs begin

Exclusive column

Playing for the Beijing Ducks this season has been one of the best experiences of my entire professional basketball career. I have had so much fun over the past five months.

From day one, my teammates and I have been on the same page. I have never experienced such camaraderie and a strong desire and will to win on any team that I have played for in either the Chinese Basketball League or the NBA.

We win as team and lose as one too. We know what it feels like to float on cloud nine after winning a lot of basketball games. However, we also know how disappointing it is to suffer consecutive defeats.

Man, it felt so good at the beginning of the season when we were on our winning streak. But after a string of losses during the regular season, we learned exactly what we were made of.

Talk about basketball seasons, you might think we play only one season. That is not exactly true, if you ask me.

My belief is there are four seasons played, regardless of the league. Preseason is first. Then, it is the regular season. Third are the playoffs, ending with the championship!

Our preseason started in October, and it was my toughest one by far. It was a real grind for my teammates and I because of coach's six-hour practices. I can remember being so tired that usually by the end we were all running on reserve fuel, no joke. Still, we pushed each other beyond our limits. We were determined to make each other better. We were one!

During one tough preseason practice, I screamed at the top of my lungs for motivation. I kept yelling, "We are running for something. We are preparing ourselves for something." Most of my teammates didn't seem to understand me. Maybe it was the language barrier. But when I kept repeating this message, "We are preparing for the championship!" they seemed to get that. In fact, they got just as hyped as me.

From the jump, I saw something different in this team. Our work ethic plus our commitment to play hard, smart and together convinced me we had a real shot at doing something epic in Beijing.

I still feel that way. Yes, I really think we can win this season's CBA championship!

We only have one last game left in the regular season. We are in second place and, as of today, our record is 21-10.

The playoffs are close now, and we are gearing up for battles against the league's best teams that also believe they can win it all.

I know there are people who don't believe in us, or our championship dream. But, just think, those same non-believers thought we would not make league history by winning 13 games in a row, yet we did. They expected us to end the regular season with one of the worst league records. Fortunately, that never happened.

Even though we were plagued by injuries, hit a wall, experienced several straight losses and had our confidence shaken, we still managed to end the grueling season with one of the best league records.

I give credit where it is due. Our quest for the CBA title won't come without a real fight from our opponents that have just as much game as us.

So, get ready Beijing as we need you now more than ever to support and help us do something else they say we cannot do, and that's win this season's championship.

Love is love.

Yours truly,

Starbury

Stephon Marbury can be reached at sports@chinadaily.com.cn