Stephon Marbury has transitioned from a mercurial NBA superstar to one of the greatest basketball talents China has ever seen.
Along his journey, he's faced the best of the best, some of the fastest and most competitive people to ever play. For ESPN.com, he listed the five toughest he's ever played. Some of the usual suspects made the cut, along with a couple of sneaky guards.
1. Rod Strickland
"The hardest guard to guard for me because he was strong crafty and could finish. He gave me fits every time we played against each other."
2. Terrell Brandon
"Another guard that gave me problems because he was a small guard that knew how to use screens really well along with a tough mid-range jump shot."
3. Allen Iverson
"He was hard to guard because he was gonna shoot 25-30 times a night, and when he's on it's pretty challenging."
4. Kobe Bryant
"To me, he's the second-best guard after Michael Jordan. So you have to guard every move and every fake."
5. Michael Jordan
"Because he's the greatest to ever touch a basketball. I only had to guard him once, but he's a nightmare for everyone."