Stephon Marbury may have had his share of being misunderstood through his basketball career but the former NBA star knows when to extend a helping hand. With most of the world hit hard by the coronavirus, the availability of protective gear such as N95 masks has been falling short. Now, the 43-year-old is trying to find ways to supply New York hospitals with masks at a discounted rate.
According to Bloomberg, suppliers have been overpricing masks despite the crisis. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo alleges that suppliers were selling masks for as much as $7.50. Marbury is trying to arrange something with a mask supplier in China where each would cost only $2.75 to help medical workers who are carrying the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York Post reported. Marbury already reached out to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams to broker the deal.
"This is something that is close and dear to my heart as far as being able to help New York. I have family there in Coney Island, a lot of family ... who are affected by this, so I know how important it is for people to have masks during this time," Marbury said.
New York has been hard by the coronavirus where there are over 120,000 cases nationwide. Marbury has kept tabs with the situation from Beijing. After hanging up his sneakers in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), the two-time All-Star ended up being the head coach for the Beijing Royal Fighters. He played in the CBA from 2010-18 after failing to land a spot on an NBA team. The last team Marbury suited up for was the Boston Celtics.
Despite being a native of Brookly, Marbury's tenure with the New York Knicks from 2004 to 2009 was the longest stint he had with a ballclub. After being traded to the Celtics, things just did not work out and teams were apprehensive of trying out the fourth overall pick of the 1996 NBA Draft.
Marbury would try his luck over in China where he practically became a god. He won three CBA titles and played for three different teams. These were the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons, the Foshan Drallions, Beijing Ducks and the Beijing Fly Dragons.
Marbury is no stranger when it comes to extending a helping hand. One country he often visited before was the Philippines, helping out kids and conducting basketball clinics. Now, Starbury tried to do his part in helping the Knicks back up to its feet.
