From mere mention of names like Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury, few topics incite as much fierce debate as basketball's streetball legends. Cam’ron decided to revisit the topic on his Instagram feed with some competitive stunting about his days at Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in East Harlem.
Cam'ron posted a picture featuring former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury, Rafer Alston, Kareem Reid and God Shammgod with the following caption, “Every nigga I gave the business to in HS.. Except #Shamgod lol..ask'm.”
The comments sparked some playful debate with Reid and Marbury hopping in Cam’s comments.
“Oh yeah Flee, I remember that game the same game I had 50 something and me and (R.I.P HUDDY 6) beat ur with 3 people lol,” Reid shot back.
"He always made people laugh," Marbury replied, with clear hints of shade thrown.
For a bit of context, Marbury starred at Coney Island’s Lincoln High and played one year at Georgia Tech before becoming the fourth overall pick in the heralded 1996 NBA Draft. Marbury enjoyed peak seasons alongside Kevin Garnett in Minnesota and on some middling New Jersey Nets teams before reinventing himself in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Reid led St. Raymond High School for Boys to the 1993 City and State Championship, and he went on to lead a respectable University of Arkansas squad before playing professionally overseas.
Alston bridged the gap between streetball and the pros by taking his And-1 persona “Skip to my Lou” to the NBA during stints in Houston and Orlando.
Shammgod is credited with one of the most lethal crossover moves in streetball lore, and he briefly played for the NBA’s Washington Wizards.
With Cam linking himself with former high school and streetball greats (and by extension the likes of Metta World Peace and Richie Parker), the question remains, how good was Mase’s former high school teammate?
“Randall Glading, the coach of Manhattan Center’s 1992 team, recently remarked that young Cam was a ‘man-child’ on the court,” noted Hua Hsu in a 2014 Grantland piece. “The only thing holding him back would have been his height. He had everything else.”
With Marbury enjoying near-deity status in China, Shammgod serving as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and Alston having enjoyed a respectable NBA career, we might need some additional receipts for why Cam led The Diplomats instead of his own NBA squad.
“Niggas don't wanna give me my credit?” Cam clapped back in a subsequent Instagram comment. “LOL… I’ma have to go to the coaches and get the proof. I played Rucker and all da unlimited tournaments b4 y'all man… don't be mad bruh.”
Someone might want to get Fat Joe on the line.
