The NBA Star Who Became a Hong Kong Top Talent

Basketball fans who watched the NBA in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s know Stephon Marbury well. Drafted fourth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1996, he was immediately traded for Ray Allen and a future first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves. There, he was paired with young sensation and future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett.

After a 13-season NBA career playing for five franchises and two all-star appearances, he crossed the Pacific Ocean to join the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), where he played for four teams over nine seasons. He subsequently coached the Beijing Royal Highflyers for four seasons.

On November 13, 2023, Marbury relocated to Hong Kong, where he applied for a work visa under Category A of the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS)—which requires applicants to have earned an annual income of at least HK$2.5 million (US$320,000) in the preceding year. His application was processed and approved in a record-breaking 24 hours.

Marbury was named an ambassador for the Hong Kong Talent Engage office to help promote the city's talent attraction schemes globally, as well as an ambassador for the InspiringHK Sports Foundation, a local charity focused on developing underprivileged youth through sports.

Since moving to the city, Stephon Marbury has considered Hong Kong his “third home” after New York, where he was born and raised, and Beijing, where he spent thirteen years as a player and coach.