"And 1's The Stephon Marbury sybolizes to me my game of breaking down defenders. The whole sneaker is me. The "S" for Steph, with the arrows at the end, shows me going one way, and the defender going the other. It's like when I just shook somebody. The "player" on the sneak shows you when you are doing a crossover, breaking somebody down. The "player" on the sole is breaking ankles. That's what it's all about. The shoe is very soft, but very protective. The support with eight eyelets makes the perfect height. It feels like a mid, but has the support of a high top. No doubt everyone will understand what this shoe is all about."

- Stephon Marbury

Only a few days after the 1996 NBA draft, where Stephon Marbury was taken as the 3rd pick, Steph signed for Pa.-based basketball appael and sneaker maker AND 1 to endorse a new line of basketball shoes. The at that time three year old basketball appael company had already made its mark in the market with its trash talkin T-shirts with slogans like, "Your game's as ugly as your girl" and mesh shorts. In November 1996, Steph was ready to introduce a new sneaker, "The Marbury". It was built with a lateral stability feature which help keep wearers on their feet. It also has several other special construction features to support Stephons ankle breaking moves. The shoe was even SneakAdaMonth in SLAM. The Marbury is in my opinion, one of the coolest shoes you can buy, at least at it's prize. It goes for $69.99, which is very cheap compared to the Adidas', Reekboks and Nikes which costs up to $150! At the same time "the Bomb" another phat shoe hit the market. It is also worn by Steph and costs $79.99, which is a bit more expensive than the Marbury. And 1 is expected to introduce a line of signature streetwear bearing Marbury's name early next year. The new clothing line will coincide with next year's rollout of And 1's second Marbury sneaker. Another AND 1 wearing NBA player is Larry Johnson, who was their front figure before Steph joined the crew. AND 1 donates 5% of it's profits to charity. AND 1 is the P H A T T E S T brand out there! 'nuff said.

The Marbury/AND 1 partnership is an interesting one. AND 1 is a four-year old company that specializes in basketball apparel. To break into the shoe market they wanted one fresh new face to build around. They chose Stephon and created "The Marbury."     "Stephon's an AND 1 player," said Jeffrey Smith, marketing director for AND 1. "He plays with a fire and tenacity. He's about basketball and we're about basketball - just basketball. Also, it's easier for kids to relate to a 6-2 guy than a taller guy. He's the ideal role model." Whether AND 1 and The Marbury can make any dent into the competitive shoe market will depend a lot on Marbury's on-court performance and his appeal to teenagers - the primary target market for most basketball shoes. Presently, The Marbury is selling well, accounting for 25 percent of AND 1's January-April orders.    For his part, Marbury liked the idea of being AND 1's only shoe endorser.

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