Stephon Marbury nearly wound up in a fist fight during a Chinese Basketball Association game between his Beijing Beikong Fly Dragons and the Shanghai Sharks. Marbury took a hard swipe at the ball as former New York Knicks guard Jimmer Fredette drove in for a layup but wound up hitting him in the arm and face. No foul was called on the play and Beijing began running the ball back up court, but the action soon stopped when it became apparent that Marbury and Fredette were about to tangle.
Fredette responded to Marbury's swipe by pushing him, to which Marbury, in turn, responded by walking him down in a menacing fashion. It is not clear what words were exchanged, but it was clear that the situation would have escalated had members of both teams not jump in and intervened.
According to ESPN, Marbury says he thought Fredette blew the situation out of proportion. "Haha, he forgot what an NBA steal felt like. That's how we played in '96 and for sure in Coney Island," Marbury said. The comment may have been a knock on Fredette's upbringing, as both are from New York, but Marbury grew up on the gritty streets of Brooklyn, while Fredette is from the suburban Glens Falls.
There may have been a bit of envy involved in the tiff as well, as Fredette is the league's reigning International MVP; an award that has belonged to Marbury in the past. This year, the Coney Island legend is averaging 15 points per game with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Fredette, on the other hand, is averaging an absurd 41.2 points with 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists.
Source: YouTube
