Isiah Thomas is Knicks coach and president, and yesterday he became the team psychologist in diagnosing why Stephon Marbury has come across as gruff and sullen in the past.
In some wild psychoanalysis, Thomas theorized Marbury put up a “hard layer” around him because as a famous superstar growing up on the Brooklyn playground, he was an “outsider.” Thomas said he believes Marbury kept up the shield in the NBA, too, after being blamed for all of his teams’ failures.
“I really have a soft spot for him because he’s been the kid that loves everybody but he’s been kicked around,” Thomas said. “At the playground, he’s the guy who kind of sits by himself. I was always an outsider, too. It’s lonely at the top. Most superstars want to be in the group. Who wants to be alone?”
Thomas and Marbury are Westchester neighbors, their relationship airtight. There’s hope this symbiosis will turn Marbury into a champion.
Thomas has told Marbury he’s already a champion in life and should pay no mind to the “loser” perception because his teams never have gotten out of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Marbury’s summer sneaker tour, on which he sold $15 discount kicks marketed toward low-income households, already has done wonders for his image.
“There’s a vulnerable sweet side to him,” Thomas said. “Because you’re the kid in the park that everybody left by himself, you put on that hard layer, that hard, tough guy. But deep down inside, you’re a nice guy. What I’ve tried to explain to him, it’s OK to be the nice guy you really are, as opposed to carry the armor.
“The fight’s over,” Thomas added. “He’s won in life already. Don’t accept the tag of being a loser because in the real world and real game of life, you’ve won big time considering where you started from in Coney Island. It’s OK to let that shy little kid come out sometimes.”
For his part, Marbury is Thomas as coach. One year after his Larry Brown feud, Marbury never before has had such a close relationship with his coach.
“The road he had to go down, he sees the same thing in me,” Marbury said of Thomas. “He has a big family. I have a big family. When they got together, everyone hit it off. That’s why our relationship is the way how it is.
“Everyone thinks I have it easier because of our relationship. I have it harder than everyone else. Our relationship is not about basketball, he’s changing the way (I am) as a person and a man.”
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Thomas is wearing a blue Autism pin on his suit lapel this season during games, and has dispatched community-relations executive John Starks to Jones Beach on Sunday to participate in the Long Island Walk for Autism Research. Starks will be one of 15,000 participants. The walk expects to raise $1.5 million for Autism Speaks.
