Stephon Marbury: Allen Iverson Would Be ‘Rejuvenated’ if He Played in China

Allen Iverson is in China for a two-week promotional basketball tour — something billed as the NBA Legends Tour (alongside Iverson will be Dennis Rodman, Clyde Drexler, Shawn Kemp and Stephon Marbury) — but Marbury thinks his former NBA rival would do very well if he stuck around for a while. (After all, Starbury would know.) From Niubball: “Shorty after getting on the ground from the U.S. yesterday morning, he fielded questions from Chinese reporters and when when asked if he’d consider playing in the CBA next season, he replied: ‘Why not?’ Iverson has been out of professional basketball since January 2011, when he left Turkish outfit Besiktas after he injured his right calf muscle. This is not the first time Iverson has been linked with a move to the CBA: He flirted with the idea of playing in China in the summer/fall of 2010 and had several serious offers, including a reported $4 million contract from Foshan. Iverson ended up declining Foshan and all other teams, and signed a two-year deal with Bestikas shortly after in October. At this point, there is no indication as to which teams Iverson would be open towards joining. […] But maybe more importantly, Iverson has a valuable ally in his Chinese corner this time, Stephon Marbury. Fresh off of leading the Beijing Shougang Ducks to their first ever CBA championship, Marbury has grown into a bonefied superstar in China and has been called a hero of Beijing by the city’s millions of inhabitants. Due to a CBA rule that limits both the regular season and Finals MVP award to Chinese players, popular Chinese basketball website, hoopCHINA, has lead a campaign to build Marbury a bronze statue that will commemorate his season in Beijing, a project that has garnered the support of more than 1 million people in China. […] Marbury, who will play against Iverson for the Legends Tour’s first thee games, returned to Beijing yesterday after a short trip to the United States and was immediately supportive of Iverson joining up with a Chinese team next season. ‘I think [Iverson] will be rejuvenated if he played in China,’ Marbury said on his Sina Weibo account (Chinese Twitter). ‘He would love the fans here if he played basketball here. I hope he can feel the love when he plays here in the coming games.'”