Stephon Marbury Predicts NBA Will Have 'Bigger' Salaries, 'More Entertaining' Players Within Decade

VCG/VCG via Getty Stephon Marbury

Former basketball star Stephon Marbury predicts the National Basketball Association (NBA) will see larger salaries and bigger personalities in the next decade.

Marbury, 45, who withdrew from the NBA in 2009 to play in China's basketball league, believes "the salaries will get bigger," for basketball stars in the somewhat near future. Last season, the median salary for players in the NBA came in at just over $4.3 million, with Stephen Curry earning the highest salary at roughly $45.7 million for the season, according to ESPN.

Alongside former players like Mark Jackson and Kenny Smith, Marbury appears in Showtime's NYC Point Gods, a documentary exploring basketball culture in New York City produced by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman's Boardroom.

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What's more, Marbury predicts players in the NBA will see a growth in opportunities outside of basketball, namely in entertainment. As well as a rise in income, Marbury tells PEOPLE, "The players will continue to become more entertaining," over the next ten seasons.

The former New York Knick also believes the league's growth in mainstream media attention is due to increased opportunities for players in the league to expand their skill set. "With so many outlets to play the game, players are developing their games constantly. It's great to see the game elevating in this manner," the athlete says.

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Weng Xinyang/Xinhua via Getty Stephon Marbury

NYC Point Gods is the second of Durant and Kleiman's featuring Marbury, who became the subject of Boardroom's 2020 documentary, A Kid from Coney Island, centered around Marbury's own journey from a lackluster lifestyle in the NBA to a six-time all-star in China's basketball league. In A Kid from Coney Island, Marbury recounts, "I went from making $20 million dollars a year to zero."

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"Stephon's journey is not without its turbulences, but that's real life," producers Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi told PEOPLE at the time of the release. "He's a cultural ambassador between Asia and America today — and we love seeing him rise and inspire millions of youths around the world."

Kleiman, who co-founded Thirty Five Ventures, further said, "I think all of us as consumers and viewers always want to see that heroic story and that redemption story. I don't think people really understood how low it got and what great heights [Stephon] reached. What he achieved in China — on the opposite side of the world — was incredible and mind-blowing. I can't even imagine another story like this in any sport, ever."

"It was great to see all of the NYC GODS getting their flowers," Marbury says of the new Showtime documentary. "I'm blessed to be amongst some of the best players from NY. It's an honor to be mentioned with these guys. I'm happy Kevin Durant, and Rich Kleiman did this. It's a win for NYC basketball culture."