Stephon Marbury Wants to Bring Starbury Back Next Year

Starbury is back. Well, not quite yet. But the brand founded by former NBA star Stephon Marbury that became famous for its $15 sneakers from 2006 may be making a comeback next year, according to the man himself.

I got the chance to talk to Marbury on his birthday last month. He came into the Complex office sporting a full Stone Island sweatsuit with light-changing wraparound Chamelo glasses, and a smile. Yes, we talked about his first sneakers that changed his life, the Air Jordan 3s. Yes, we talked about the time he brought out a pair of New Balance 801s on the cover of SLAM Magazine, thanks to Russ Bengtson. On the topic of the 801s, he said New Balance maybe should have given him a kickback for that shoe selling over a million pairs in Foot Locker. 

But more importantly, we talked about Starbury—where the brand was in the past and what its future will be in a few years.

“I want to drop it next summer,” Starbury says about the potential return of Starbury. “Because after 2025, going into 2030, we’re going to see a whole new breed of athletes.” 

Marbury says the reason why he took a leap of faith and launched his own budget sneakers, which were sold exclusively at Steve & Barry’s, was because he had done AND1 before, and he didn’t think it would be hard to sell sneakers.

“I made sure that the quality was good enough for me to hoop in,” he says. “Making that shoe and selling it, I never thought it would do as good as it did. But I had the vision it could do that, because you’re giving the people the opportunity to have access.”

Marbury says the reason why Starbury was so successful, in his eyes, is because it wasn’t just sneakers. It gave consumers access to sneakers and clothes.

“The shoes went so fire, because people was carrying the shoes, but they had the bags packed with all the clothes,” he says. “As it gets ready to come back, it would be even better.”

When it came to his original deal, Marbury says he took no money from an actual base-salary contract. “I only made money on a royalty basis,” he says. “And I did that specifically because I wanted people to know my commitment to the people. It was really for the people.”

And now with all that I’ve learned and what I’ve done, I can put everything together and do it all over again with a way better structure. With a way better infrastructure.”

Marbury feels his time spent playing in China, his longest tenure on the Beijing Ducks, has helped his knowledge of how to better run his business: “It’s a blessing to have gone through that and then go to a place where they produce everything that’s pretty much in here. It’s made in China.”

Marbury didn’t give any specifics on a product roll out or price points on the new shoes, or what we can expect at all. For now, consumers will have to wait and see if it’s written in the stars, or just a moon shot.