> As such, he considers this resonating influence he made in the NBA as the main testament of his proudest regard to his 16-year professional stint in a recent Q&A interview with Sam Gordon of Las Vegas Review-Journal.
> “I can honestly say I changed the game. I was a big part of changing the game, what we’re watching right now,” Marion said. “Small ball. Positionless basketball. It was challenging, of course. I wasn’t on board with it at first. I’m 6-foot-7, 230 pounds. You’ve got me guarding 7-footers. That wasn’t an easy adjustment. But I did it. We did it. It is what it is now. It’s what everybody’s doing now.”
.
> In nine years of mainstay as a Sun, he was able to compile an astounding regular season averages of 18.4 points, 10.0 boards, 2.0 assists, 1.9 steals, 1.4 blocks and 48.1 percent shooting in 37.8 minutes of play across 660 games. Up until now, Marion remains glued to the franchise’s Top 5 leaderboards in various statistical categories (h/t Basketball Reference) such as: career win shares (93.2), value over replacement player (38.7), and box plus/minus (4.2); as well as in total regular season marks for points (12,134), rebounds (6,616), steals (1,245), minutes played (24,948) blocks (894), field goals (4,879), three-point field goals (652), and double-doubles (343).
> Marion, who played for four more teams in his career including the Dallas Mavericks wherein he won his lone championship in 2011, boasts an elite distinction for himself as the only player in NBA history (EDIT: besides LeBron James) with 17,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals, 1,000 blocks and 500 three-pointers registered.
Link: https://www.talkbasket.net/168644-shawn-marion-claims-influencing-todays-game-makes-him-most-proud-of-his-career
by JohnLemonnn69
41 Comments
Yep them Suns Euro basketball was part of the beginning
No lies spoken. PFs in that era were basically slightly smaller centers. Duncan, KG, Sheed, Dirk etc. were all at least 7 feet tall and would all be 5’s today.
He changed the “you’ll never get to the league with that form” argument forever
Anyone who denies this didn’t watch him on the 7 seconds or less offense
That whole 7sol team was the archetype of modern NBA. It’s kind of interesting looking back because it feels old school but at the time it was so different and felt like our current version of basketball.
Shame they didn’t win a title bc it would have been really fitting.
Lebron has more than eclipsed those career stats of 17,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals, 1,000 blocks and 500 3s.
Was this to say Marion is the only one with that career stat line and no more?
Pleasantly surprised the early comments all are supportive of this. He really was a very early prototype of what everyone does in the league now. I always feel sad he had some ego hits with being the third banana to Nash and Amare. Prime Marion would be treated as an insane unicorn of an asset in today’s game. His defense got discounted because he played in an era where people didn’t look at advanced metrics, so the super fast (for the time) offense the Suns ran made it look like they gave up tons of points. Their per 100 numbers were solid though, and it surely wasn’t thanks to the other star players on those Suns teams. If Marion came into the league now I think some people would talk about him with like an insane reverence for what he brings to a team. Truly the perfect modern player who defends multiple positions at an elite level, has well above average athleticism, and has a solid 3 point shot with other offensive skills as well.
He was pretty highly valued in a league that didn’t value what he did nearly as much as they do now.
One of the few cases where a former player understands his legacy. Diaw was other that played alongside him on the Suns and I remember people not knowing what his role was because of his versatility.
> “Small ball. Positionless basketball. It was challenging, of course. I wasn’t on board with it at first. I’m 6-foot-7, 230 pounds. You’ve got me guarding 7-footers. That wasn’t an easy adjustment. But I did it. We did it. It is what it is now. It’s what everybody’s doing now.”
Marion hardly played any small ball 5, and I don’t think having a 6’7″ forward guarding power forwards was all that revolutionary. He was a dynamic defensive player, of course, but their scheme wasn’t anything special on that end.
The real revolution of those Suns teams was on offense, where Marion was a rare 4 who created spacing, could handle the ball, act as a secondary playmaker, and could finish.
The 7SOL Suns offense together with spacing and a lot of spain PNR we now see nowadays , they were way ahead of the curve
Plug those Suns teams right now and they’d fit seamlessly
All that *and* he was the first NBA player to compete on *The Amazing Race* (well along with Cedric Ceballos but Shawn got introduced first on the show so it counts).
Suns showed many of glances, but I dont think everyone is lookin at them in terms of emulating. GSW was the team who forced the change.
Stats at the bottom are cherry picked though, 1500 steals leaves out Dirk. And the 17000 is way too random, could’ve been anything since no one else has the rest.
I’m glad he feels that way because in the book “7 Seconds or Less” it’s clear he feels unseen and under appreciated.
The Matrix! He was my favourite player on that Suns team and I remember when he was the **consensus** #1 player in fantasy basketball at the time. I lost my mind when the Raptors acquired him, but it didn’t work out and his tenure here was so short-lived. It was easy to forget he was ever here at all. That said, he was indispensable in that Mavericks championship run.
100% Marion is what current GMs dream of when they define a swiss-army knife player. Even that term would be selling him short.
He’d be so good in today’s game… switchable defensive versatility, amazing rebounding for his size, has an outside shot, all pointing towards the dream prototype of a big wing (also known as the 4) in today’s era
Dimestore Lebron was very very good
He changed Fantasy Basketball forever. Perennially rated #1 for a stretch there. You were in good shape if you drafted the Matrix.
Funny story, but my friend’s favorite player was Shawn Marion and he actually bought a Toyota Matrix. It’s like dude, calm down, he’s just a basketball player. At least he held off on the Kia Rondo.
And he was fun on the amazing race
He look like RAY LEWIS 😂😂😂
He definitely should get into the hall of fame. He was a borderline top 10 player in the league from 2004/2005 to 2007/2008. Terrific defender that had to erase a lot of deficiencies on those Suns teams. He could also run for days and was very good at cutting to the basket.
Shawn marion is so fuckin underrated always 3rd fiddle on those suns
LOL what? He didn’t change the game.
I think in terms of defensive versatility he was one of the best in his era. Prime Matrix could guard small ball 5s today imo, which would make him one of the genuine few today who can guard all positions.
Was part of an iconic team for sure
Please. We were playing positionless basketball in our amateur league 20 years ago. We were always rotating and sometimes the centre would be caught on the outside and someone from the back court was in the post. It was all about constant movement. This isn’t novel in basketball. Neither are small lineups to outrun bigger teams. Everyone thinks they invented sliced bread. At least in Europe this has been the norm for a very long time.
Shawn Marion and Andrei Kirilenko are two of my favourite players and my go-to examples of former players that would be at their best in todays game. Both can guard 1-5 on defence and give you a little of everything on offence.
Does every basketball player think “they have changed the game” or is that just me?
Huge part of the 2011 chip win. His ability to defend nearly anyone was huge and helped pave the way.
The Matrix! Kenny Smith loved his game!
I always rated Marion
Start referring to the game with BSM and ASM to denote the point at which Shawn Marion changed everything.
I love matrix and his ugly ass shot
His shooting form was wack
100% agree.
Matrix and AK47 won me two straight fantasy seasons and they were an incredible amount of fun to watch.
Also, Shawn Marion could’ve been the greatest soccer goalie in history.
Marion was shutting everyone down during that 2011 Mavs run.
Bro you had the worst jumper in the history of the sport
Shawn Marion is the prototypical “I know who he is, but I’ll never say he was great” player in the NBA. Baseball is full of Shawn Marions – those guys who played 2-3 positions (2nd/SS/3rd) but you’d never argue that he was HOF worthy.
Such an underrated player. I’m still pissed he never got a chance to play in the ’15 finals
He isn’t lying.