Stephon Marbury chatted live from NBA headquarters where he is gaining experience with a two-day internship. (Jesse Garrabrant/NBA Photos)

Stephon Marbury heads into his first full season as a Net, coming off a year where he set career-highs in points per game (21.3), assists (8.9) and rebounds (2.9). Marbury joins fellow stars Keith Van Horn, Jayson Williams and Kerry Kittles, as the Nets look to rebound following a disappointing 1998-99 season.

Marbury, who was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the fourth overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft (he was traded to Minnesota on draft night), played just one season at Georgia Tech before jumping straight to the NBA. Following two stellar seasons for the Timberwolves, the 6-2 point guard was traded to the Nets five weeks into the 1998-99 season. Marbury went on to rank eighth in the league in points per game and third in assists per game last year, when he also set single game career-highs in points (41) and assists (20).

A New York City native, Marbury was named the National High School Player of the Year by Parade Magazine as a senior at Abraham Lincoln H.S. in Brooklyn, NY. Stephon was in his hometown on Wednesday to conduct a live chat from NBA headquarters.

Stephon Marbury at 2:06pm ET
I think we're going to be very good this year. With the absence of Jayson, it'll be a little more difficult on the boards, but we're definitely going to be successful this year as far as trying to make noise.

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Dawid from ic.sunysb.edu at 2:06pm ET
What is your favorite memory from the past in basketball?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:06pm ET
I would have to say my favorite memory is when we won the high school championship.

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D-lux Junk at 2:07pm ET
Does playing in Mexico have any special meaning or relevance to you?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:07pm ET
Yes, it's special to me because I've never been there before, and I've always wanted to go there.

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Jose Antonio at 2:08pm ET
What can Mexican fans expect from the Nets? Will they see a team with playoff aspirations?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:08pm ET
Exactly. They will see a team with playoff aspirations, and they will see a show... provided by Starbury.

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aaron at 2:08pm ET
What is your favorite move you ever did in a game?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:09pm ET
I like crossing over from right to left to the basket from the sideline going baseline.

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Shaun Fahey at 2:09pm ET
Hey Steph,
I'm your number 1 fan from Australia. I been with you ever since college. Is there any chance of coming out to Australia

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Stephon Marbury at 2:09pm ET
Hopefully one day I'll be able to go there and visit my friend Shane Heal. He tells me it's a nice place to visit, and the people there are really nice.

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Justin Blackstone at 2:10pm ET
When did you get your first dunk?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:10pm ET
I was 13 years old. I did it in park near where I lived in Coney Island.

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aaron at 2:10pm ET
If you could pick any other four guys in the league to be on your team, who would be your ideal teammates?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:11pm ET
Mitch Richmond, Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan.

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Derek at 2:11pm ET
What kind of work can do to become a great point guard?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:12pm ET
The things you should do every day -- if you're a point guard already -- you can improve your game by doing a lot of ball handling, a lot of shooting, and you have to play a lot with a lot of different people. You learn how people play differently, and you can pretty much foresee what people will be like when they're on the court with you. So you're just learning, every day that you play with someone different, and you're improving your game. The more you learn, the better.

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Jerms at 2:13pm ET
What was your reaction when you learned you were going to New Jersey?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:14pm ET
I was probably the happiest guy at the time. I was excited -- I didn't want to be in Minnesota anymore. I really wanted to go because I was unhappy living there, and I was really excited about playing close to home. I just wanted to have a big party. It felt like a big party, and you're mother brings out the BMX bike that you know she couldn't afford -- that was pretty much the feeling I had when I found out I was going to New Jersey.

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Rod Smith from svc.edu at 2:14pm ET
Is playing with Van horn and Kittles really as fun as it looks.

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Stephon Marbury at 2:16pm ET
Yes it is. When I played with Kevin, I thought there wasn't a better one-two punch in the NBA, but when I started playing with Keith -- Kevin is more of a defensive player, more of a do-it-all player, but Keith is a scorer, a slasher, he can post up. I hadn't really gotten a chance to see him play much before I got to New Jersey, but he can do so many exciting things on the court, it just raises my game to another level.

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dderek77 at 2:16pm ET
Who was your role model growing up?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:17pm ET
My role model was my mom because she never finished high school, she never finished college, but she always had the right answers for me. And being that she was able to teach me things as far as my life, it carried over to school and to basketball. Going through certain things as she was growing up, she was able to tell me certain things to keep me on the right track. She was definitely my role model.

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killermove from nni.com at 2:17pm ET
Do you consider yourself a pass-first or a score-first point guard?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:19pm ET
I consider myself a person - when there's an open shot, I take it. When there's a pass that needs to be delivered, I deliver it. A lot of people compare me and Allen Iverson, but I think I'm more of a point guard where I do what needs to be done on the court. I try to make the correct play every time I go down the court. But when it comes down to the end of the game, I get into more of a scoring mode, because it causes teams to focus more on me and starts to open up the lanes for other people.

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swesley at 2:19pm ET
What's up Stephon? I saw you in the TerrorSquad video with Kenny Anderson. Are you going to go the same route as Shaq and Webber and record a rap album?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:19pm ET
No, that's not me. I'm a basketball player.

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The Brooklyn Kid at 2:20pm ET
How do you feel the new rules for the league will affect
your game individually, as well as the NBA game as a whole?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:21pm ET
I don't feel the new rules will affect my game. It's an enhancement for me because I don't see too many people being able to check me, Strickland, Iverson. Before I got to the NBA, I learned to play defense with my feet, so I think I'll be able to go back to that, whereas other guys have been playing defense with their hands for so long, they might not be as fresh as me.

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Shawn Bouley at 2:21pm ET
When do you predict the Nets will win a championship?

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Stephon Marbury at 2:22pm ET
I feel we are the ultimate competitors, and when everyone knows that, that's when we'll be on our game, and that's when they'll be saying that we'll win the championship.

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Stephon Marbury at 2:23pm ET
Check me out on www.stephonmarbury.net, coming soon.

I love all you and God bless!

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