Stephon Marbury hopes to return to NBA at age 40 before retiring

Two-time NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury hopes to retire from basketball as an NBA player this upcoming season, he said on social media Tuesday.

Marbury posted his intentions on Instagram, saying: "Yes, it's true. An NBA comeback is coming."

Marbury is expected to live up to his one-year contract with the Beijing Fly Dragons during the 2017-18 Chinese Basketball Association season and retire from the league afterward, a source said. Once the CBA season is over, which could be as early as March, the 40-year-old would like to return to the NBA after a long hiatus and retire from playing in the league.

He currently has no training camp or contract offer from an NBA team.

Marbury has won two CBA championships with the Beijing Ducks and has been playing in China since 2010. The No. 4 pick in the 1996 NBA draft has not played in an NBA game since the 2008-09 season with the Boston Celtics.

He averaged 19.3 points and 7.6 assists per game during an NBA career that also included stops with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and hometown New York Knicks.

Marbury, a Brooklyn native, had a tumultuous five-year stint with the Knicks that included clashes with coaches and teammates -- and little success on the court. It ended with the Knicks and Marbury agreeing on a buyout in 2009 after the point guard was benched for his final season in New York.

He signed with the Celtics after the buyout.

Since meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver in China last October, Marbury has had positive meetings in New York City with the league and with the Knicks.

ESPN's Ian Begley contributed to this report.

Author: Marc J. Spears, ESPN
Source: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20683592/stephon-marbury-hopes-return-nba-age-40-retiring