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In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury were two of the top point guards in the NBA, though both were also regarded as mercurial personalities with often selfish tendencies. In fact, their playing styles were similar enough that many basketball pundits and fans alike were puzzled when the New York Knicks paired the duo together in an ill-fated backcourt; moreover, both players wore out their welcomes with numerous teams and eventually fizzled out of the Association completely, though Marbury later rose like a phoenix and resurrected his career in China. In looking back at two of the most talented, but perhaps also misunderstood players of their generation, the question is:
Who was better – Steve Francis or Stephon Marbury?
The Beginning
Despite disparate basketball backgrounds, Francis and Marbury were each high lottery draft picks and made an immediate impact at the NBA level, leading many to believe they would become superstars and cornerstone team building blocks.
Born and raised in Maryland, Francis endured a tough childhood and moved around from school to school, eventually dropping out of high school having barely played interscholastic high school basketball. Nevertheless, he persevered, got his GED, and became a standout junior college player at both San Jacinto College and Allegany College of Maryland. Eventually, Francis transferred to the University of Maryland for his junior season and earned both First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Second Team All-American honors, as well as finalist status for both the Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year Awards, in his lone season with the Terrapins. Upon declaring early for the 1999 NBA Draft, Francis was selected second overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies (now the Memphis Grizzlies); however, he did not want to play for the Grizzlies and forced a trade to the Houston Rockets instead – in what was then the largest trade in NBA history, Vancouver got Michael Dickerson, Othella Harrington, Antoine Carr, Brent Price, and draft picks in return for Francis as part of a three-team trade involving 11 players. Finally, as a rookie with Houston in 1999-2000, Francis averaged 18.0 points (on 44.5% shooting), 5.3 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game to share Rookie of the Year honors with top overall pick Elton Brand.
In contrast, Marbury grew up in Brooklyn, New York near Coney Island and was a star basketball player in high school expected to be the next great point guard from the Big Apple: he was a 2x Parade All-American, won New York State Mr. Basketball as a senior, and was also a McDonald’s All-American. As one of the nation’s top prospects, he chose to go south and play at Georgia Tech, where he was ACC Rookie of the Year, First Team All-ACC, and a Third Team All-American as a freshman. After just one season with the Yellow Jackets, Marbury declared for the 1996 NBA Draft and was taken fourth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks, but traded immediately to the Minnesota Timberwolves for fifth overall pick Ray Allen and a future first-round pick. Paired with Kevin Garnett in Minnesota, Marbury earned All-Rookie honors in 1996-1997 with 15.8 points (40.8% shooting), 2.7 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game.
Career Comparison
In their overlapping primes in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Francis and Marbury were All-Star-caliber players who consistently averaged 20+ points per game, but were also viewed as headaches and thus, bounced around from team to team, even ending up as teammates at one point.
Francis would team with shooting guard Cuttino Mobley to form a dynamic backcourt duo in Houston, further improving his numbers to 19.9 points (on 45.1% shooting), 6.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game in 2000-2001. Though he was limited to 57 games played the next year, Francis earned his first All-Star selection on the strength of a career-high 21.6 points per game (though on only 41.7% shooting) with a career-best 7.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game. With the further addition of 2002 #1 overall pick Yao Ming, he once again made the All-Star team in 2002-2003: 21.0 points (43.5% shooting), 6.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. This was followed by a third consecutive All-Star selection in 2003-2004, though Francis had a relatively down year with only 16.6 points per game on 40.3% shooting.
After half a decade with the Rockets and a deteriorating relationship with head coach Jeff Van Gundy, Francis was sent to the Orlando Magic with Mobley and Kelvin Cato in a blockbuster deal for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Reece Gaines. Initially, he got off to a strong start, posting 21.3 points (42.3% shooting), 5.8 rebounds, and a career-best 7.0 assists in 2004-2005; however, midway through the next season, he was dealt to the Knicks for Trevor Ariza and the expiring contract of Penny Hardaway, where he was expected to team up in the backcourt with Marbury. Things did not work out in New York, though, as Francis only played 68 total games in a season-and-a-half, barely averaging double-digit scoring. During the 2007 NBA Draft, he was traded along with Channing Frye to the Portland Trail Blazers for Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau, and Fred Jones, but was bought out and never played a game for Portland. As a free agent, he returned to Houston, but only played in 10 games during the 2007-2008 season – though he was later traded to the Memphis Grizzlies (ironically bringing his career full-circle), Marbury had played his last NBA game at age 30 with the Rockets. As a professional, he would venture east in 2010 and join the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) but only played four games total.
Though he continued to improve year-over-year and was expected to form the nucleus of a young Timberwolves team with Garnett for years to come, Marbury instead demanded a trade during the lockout-shortened 1998-1999 season and was subsequently dealt to the New Jersey Nets in a three-team deal in which Terrell Brandon went to Minnesota and Sam Cassell was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. In New Jersey, Marbury had some of his best individual years – in his first full season with the Nets in 1999-2000, he averaged 22.2 points (43.2% shooting), 3.2 rebounds, and 8.4 assists per game to make the All-NBA Third Team. The next year, he made his first All-Star team with a career-high 23.9 points per game on 44.1% shooting with 3.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game. However, despite his strong play, Marbury was on the move once again, this time traded with Johnny Newman and Soumaila Samake to the Phoenix Suns for Jason Kidd and Chris Dudley.
Out in the desert, Marbury continued to produce, averaging 20+ points and 8+ assists per game. Notably, in his second year with the Suns in 2002-2003, he earned both All-Star and Third Team All-NBA honors for the second time on the strength of 22.3 points (43.9% shooting), 3.2 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game. Like clockwork, though, he was once again traded after a couple of seasons – during the 2003-2004 season, he was sent back east to the Knicks together with Penny Hardaway and Cezary Trybanski for Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Antonio McDyess, Maciej Lampe, and draft picks. The first year-and-a-half of this homecoming went decently (21.7 points on 46.2% shooting with 3.0 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game in 2004-2005), but feuds with the coaching staff, lack of chemistry with Francis, and a myriad of other issues lead to a decline in Marbury’s production – a consistent 20+ points per game scorer for most of his career, his average dipped to around 16 points for a couple of seasons, cratering at 13.9 points per game during an injury-shortened 2007-2008 season. Upon losing the starting point guard job and later being banned from all team activities; he was bought out midway through the 2008-2009 season and signed with the Boston Celtics, but only played in 23 games with 3.8 points per game. At age 31, Marbury would play his last NBA game, but like Francis, he would go to China to play in the CBA in 2010; unlike his counterpart, Marbury flourished in the CBA, particularly with the Beijing Ducks – he was not only a star in China, but also led Beijing to multiple titles and cemented a legacy as one of the most country’s most popular basketball players ever.
The NBA careers of Francis and Marbury largely overlapped (and as mentioned, they even shared a backcourt together in New York), though the latter played four more seasons and nearly 300 additional regular season games. Across their careers, Marbury was the more consistent scorer (19.3 vs. 18.1 points per game) and passer (7.6 vs. 6.0 assists per game), but Francis was a better rebounder from the point guard position (5.6 to 3.0 rebounds per game), with both players shooting similar percentages. While Francis was a 3x All-Star to Marbury’s two selections and also won Rookie of the Year, it was Marbury who made two All-NBA Teams (both Third Team selections); in terms of how this translates to advanced metrics, Marbury had a slightly higher Player Efficiency Rating (PER) at 18.7 vs. 18.3, as well as significantly more Win-Shares (77.5 vs. 54.1). Head-to-head, the two point guards faced off a total of 20 times in the regular season – while Francis’ teams came out ahead 14-6, Marbury arguably had better individual performances, averaging 21.2 points (on 45.1% shooting), 2.6 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game to Francis’ 17.1 points (41.3% shooting), 5.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. While neither player sustained a long enough period of greatness to be seriously considered for the Basketball Hall of Fame, Marbury did leave a legacy in China as one of the greatest players in CBA history.
Regular Season Statistics
| Steve Francis | Player | Stephon Marbury |
| 9 (1999-2008) | Seasons | 13 (1996-2009) |
| 576 | Games Played | 846 |
| 18.1 | Points | 19.3 |
| 5.6 | Rebounds | 3.0 |
| 6.0 | Assists | 7.6 |
| 42.9% | Field Goal % | 43.3% |
| 79.7% | Free Throw % | 78.4% |
| 18.3 | PER | 18.7 |
| 54.1 | Win Shares | 77.5 |
| 3x | All-Star Games | 2x |
| – | All-NBA | 2x |
| – | MVP | – |
| – | NBA Titles | – |
| – | NBA Finals MVP | – |
| ROY | Other Awards | All-Rookie |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | – |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
While they both put up gaudy regular season numbers, especially in their primes, neither Francis nor Marbury were able to drive much playoff success for their teams (though Marbury did later become a clutch performer in the CBA).
Despite nearly a decade in the NBA, Francis only played in one playoff series, a five-game first-round loss to the Shaq and Kobe-led Los Angeles Lakers in 2003-2004; individually, Francis had a strong all-around series with 19.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game.
Across Minnesota, Phoenix, and New York (he never led the Nets to the playoffs), Marbury made four postseason trips, but never managed to guide his team out of the first round; individually, he did average 20+ points per game 3x, though never shot above 40% in any of those series. As a member of the Celtics, he did advance deep into the playoffs, but Marbury played a minimal role with 3.7 points per game in under 12 minutes nightly.
Internationally, Marbury was part of the infamous 2004 Team USA roster that took home a highly disappointing bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in Athens, thus paving the way for the “Redeem Team” four years later.
Playoff Statistics
| Steve Francis | Player | Stephon Marbury |
| 5 | Games Played | 32 |
| 19.2 | Points | 12.6 |
| 8.4 | Rebounds | 2.6 |
| 7.6 | Assists | 4.6 |
| 42.9% | Field Goal % | 35.5% |
| 72.5% | Free Throw % | 75.0% |
| 19.9 | PER | 11.2 |
| 0.7 | Win Shares | -0.4 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; from their early successes, both Francis and Marbury were out of the NBA by their early 30s, though the latter did have a long and successful second act in China. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years. However, given Francis only played nine NBA seasons total, I have modified it in this comparison to a “(half)-decade of dominance”.
(Half)-Decade of Dominance
| Steve Francis | Player | Stephon Marbury |
| 1999-2003, 2004-2005 | (Half)-Decade of Dominance | 1999-2001, 2002-2005 |
| 373 | Games Played | 385 |
| 20.3 | Points | 22.0 |
| 6.2 | Rebounds | 3.2 |
| 6.5 | Assists | 8.2 |
| 43.5% | Field Goal % | 44.1% |
| 80.2% | Free Throw % | 81.2% |
| 19.8 | PER | 21.1 |
| 40.3 | Win Shares | 45.6 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
In looking at each player’s five best seasons, the trends are largely the same – Francis was the better rebounder (almost a “lite” precursor version of Russell Westbrook), but Marbury was the better scorer and passer with better advanced metrics; it should be noted their respective Win-Shares are much closer when you normalize across a consistent duration.
My Thoughts
Given their talent and lofty draft statuses and despite some productive seasons, I think it is a generally held view that neither Steve Francis nor Stephon Marbury lived up to their potential in the NBA. As mentioned previously, Francis had a similar skillset to Russell Westbrook, but never quite evolved his game to that same level of dominance and moreover, flamed out relatively quickly following less than a decade in the league. Concurrently, Marbury put up consistently strong counting numbers (though with poor efficiency) for a longer period of time, but it never felt like he made his teams better, which is perhaps why he was traded so many times during his career for other point guards. From an NBA perspective alone, while neither can be considered a “winner”, I think Marbury’s similar production over a slightly longer timespan gives him the edge; add in his surprising longevity in China and the unparalleled legacy he left behind, and I think that only further tips the scales in his favor.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Stephon Marbury
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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