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Boston Celtics Stephon Marbury speaks at a news conference in Boston - Source: Reuters -
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Former NBA All Star Stephon Marbury on Thursday officially joined Shanxi Zhongyu of the China Basketball Association, saying he hoped the move will help turn the team's fortunes around.
Marbury averaged 19.3 points and 7.6 assists a game during 13 years in the NBA - statistics that make him the most high-profile player to grace the Chinese professional league since Houston Rocket star Yao Ming left in 2003.
The Shanxi team held a splashy news conference to introduce Marbury, who will suit up wearing number 33 and is expected to take the court for the first time on Monday, the China News Service reported.
The terms of his contract were not immediately disclosed.
Marbury, 32, said he hopes to help the team make the postseason, the report said.
"I want to bring love to Chinese fans and I want to feel the love of the Chinese fans, so I'm going to play hard and work to help Shanxi win more games," he told Titan Sports Weekly, a top Chinese sports paper, last week.
"I'm looking forward to joining Shanxi. I hope that I can stay a long time and can help them get to the postseason and after that go even further," he said.
Shanxi Zhongyu is near the bottom of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) table with three wins, 12 losses and only faint hopes of making the playoffs.
During the 2007-2008 NBA season, Marbury refused to play for his team, the New York Knicks, after being benched by coach Isiah Thomas in an ugly spat that drew national headlines.
His unhappiness lasted into the following year before the Knicks bought out his $US42 million contract in early 2009.
The troubled point guard was subsequently signed by the Boston Celtics, the last NBA team for which he played.
