Marbury helping NYC face up to fight

Former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury racked up thousands of assists on the basketball court during his 22-year career, but all of them pale in comparison to what he's doing now to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Using contacts and knowledge obtained in China, Beijing-based Marbury is helping facilitate the fight against the virus in the United States while urging his native country to adopt the aggressive control measures that have proved so successful in his "second home".

Brooklyn-born Marbury confirmed with China Daily on Monday that he is helping broker a deal between a Chinese manufacturer and New York City authorities to supply 10 million face masks at a fair price to support the battle against the outbreak in the Big Apple, where a shortage of protective gear is taking a toll on virus-control efforts.

Marbury, who coaches the CBA's Beijing Royal Fighters, said he is working with Brooklyn Borough president Eric Adams－an old acquaintance of his－to help facilitate the purchase.

"Right now I am just waiting for the Brooklyn Borough president to say when he wants to do it," Marbury told China Daily in a phone interview.

"I am ready with my connections on the Chinese side. They are going to be able to produce and have everything ready for them. It's up to him (Adams) right now."

According to a USA Today report on Sunday, a spokeswoman for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed that Adams had reached out to the mayor's office, but a proposal to deliver 2 million masks per week in a five-week deal had not materialized into an order.

After retesting negative for the coronavirus following a 14-day quarantine period upon his return to Beijing from the US earlier this month, Marbury has got straight back down to business on the court, with his team preparing for the pending restart of the CBA's 2019-20 regular season, which has been suspended since late January.

A bona-fide hero in the capital after leading the Beijing Ducks to three league titles from 2012-15, Marbury is completely at ease with the new realities of urban life in China. He always wears a mask on his daily commute between his downtown apartment and the Royal Fighters' suburban training facility, regularly cleans his hands and stays indoors whenever possible.

Ten years of living in China have shed light on the policies adopted by the Chinese authorities during the crisis for Marbury. However, he's not expecting the majority of his fellow Americans to be on the same page－at least not yet.

"The way the Chinese government handled the situation, including measures to shut down the entire city of Wuhan, was so vital and important," said the 43-year-old, who ended his playing career in 2018 as a Royal Fighter.

"I've been here for 10 years and I understand the culture here. But people in the States didn't know about the seriousness of the virus and now they know.

"People weren't taking this serious until they saw people who got infected or if they got the virus they took it differently.

"I am trying to create a balance so people in America understand how important measures, such as the 14-day quarantine, are to identify potential infections. That's where they have to come into place."

Marbury's concern for his compatriots stems from his own painful experience, with some of his relatives in the States infected and in a critical condition.

"I know that it's a different system so I have to find a way on how to basically express my understandings. Me trying to explain to them how serious this is was based upon what I knew what is going on in China," he said

Marbury, the fourth overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves, spent 13 turbulent seasons in the NBA before moving to China in 2009, where he resurrected his career in stunning style.

He now enjoys permanent residency in his adopted home, boasts a personal museum in downtown Beijing while a bronze statue in his resemblance stands outside the Ducks' home stadium, the Wukesong Arena.

With life getting back to normal in China, Marbury said he can't wait for the CBA season to resume.

"For basketball to restart, for people to have an outlet to look toward is a really positive thing," he said. "If it restarts, the CBA will be the only league that is in operation, so it's going to bring a lot of focus worldwide to the league. We need it. It's going to show some camaraderie as people work together to fight the virus as one."