The 2004 Olympic Games were not a bright spot for the United States men’s basketball team. Some even consider that Games a low point in USA Basketball history.
The team, coached by Larry Brown, dropped three games and finished with the bronze medal for the second time in U.S. men’s basketball history (the other was in 1988). The U.S. had won three straight gold medals before 2004 and has since won the past three.
Stephon Marbury was one of the stars on that 2004 roster, along with Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, and a young Dwyane Wade. The team struggled mightily and there seemed to be chemistry concerns.
Reflecting on the experience in an interview with Complex, Marbury called the Games “the worst 38 days of my life.”
Marbury despised being coached by Brown. You can imagine his reaction when Brown signed on as the Knicks’ new head coach the following year.
“I begged Isiah not to bring him to the Knicks,” Marbury said. “It was just unbearable, man. Nobody wanted to play for him. The whole energy was terrible. But it was the environment he wanted. Misery.”
It’s an interesting interview. In it, Marbury also comments on his new life in China — a life he’s clearly enjoying.
“China is the best,” Marbury said. “Since I moved there my life has been amazing. The best time of my life. Not even close. I guess this was how it was all supposed to go down.”
