Stephon Marbury Reveals Reason Why He Doesn't Respect LeBron James

The two-time All-Star lays it all on the line.

LeBron James, Lamar Odom and Stephon Marbury sit on the bench during the 2004 Olympics. / Robert Deutsch, USAT

Former two-time NBA All-Star point guard Stephon Marbury has revealed why he no longer respects his former Team USA comrade on the bronze medal-winning men's basketball 2004 Olympics squad, 20-time All-Star Los Angeles Lakers combo forward LeBron James.

In a quote-tweet response on his official X account to a fan, the 6-foot-2 Georgia Tech revealed that the main motivation for his grievance was what he perceived to be James, a longtime Nike loyalist, to think of Marbury's cost-effective sportswear brand, Starbury.

Yeah, I lost all respect for LeBron James when he disrespected my brand that was helping the people in Akron, Ohio. It’s been and will be up for life. So it’s okay; you will learn to deal with it. https://t.co/Br3GgXRwQw

— I AM PEACE STAR (@StarburyMarbury) December 13, 2024

"Yeah, I lost all respect for LeBron James when he disrespected my brand that was helping the people in Akron, Ohio. It’s been and will be up for life," Marbury wrote. "So it’s okay; you will learn to deal with it."

A two-time All-NBA Third Teamer, Marbury logged averages of 19.3 points on .433/.325/.784 shooting splits, 7.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.2 steals across 846 career regular season games for the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics from 1996-2009.

James and Marbury overlapped in the league between 2003-09.

Though he had an offer from Boston to return to the league after serving as a key role player reserve in a seven-game NBA Finals loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, he transitioned to what wound up being a life-changing run in the Chinese Basketball Association. Marbury suited up for the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons, the Foshan Dralions, the Beijing Ducks, and the Beijing Fly Dragons from 2010-18. Marbury earned three CBA All-Star berths and won three CBA titles with the Ducks, in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

Following his historic CBA run, Marbury earned a statue and his own museum for his accomplishments. He took on a coaching gig with CBA franchise the Beijing Royal Fighters from 2019-23. Marbury has also served as an owner for the Beijing Lions of the China Arena Football League since 2017.

James, who has parlayed his on-court success into a massive merchandising career and a variety of entertainment opportunities, remains one of the league's best players, even as its oldest active player for a second consecutive season. Across his 23 healthy games thus far for his 13-12 Lakers, the four-time league MVP is averaging 23.0 points on .495/.359/.762 shooting splits, 9.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds a night. Though no longer an All-Defensive stud or even the club's top scoring option (that'd be nine-time All-Star center/power forward Anthony Davis), James remains an elite offensive talent.

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