Phoenix Suns legend Shawn Marion is beyond certain he’d feast in today’s NBA.
“Listen, listen, I think, I think I can play in every era personally, but definitely this would be a lot more tailored to me because of how fast it is,” Marion said. “And me being able to guard one through five, I was able to do at a time with real power forwards and real centers. Not now, because all the guys don't, I’m not saying it's not physical, but they don't post up. Everything is now face up, which would cater to me easily. I’d probably have way more steals now. Way more blocks. More rebounds. It’d be way more now.”
Way more money?
Nicknamed "The Matrix," Marion earned $133,417,923 in his 16-year NBA career with five NBA teams.
To put that perspective, Suns All-Star
Devin Booker signed a historic two-year, $145-million extension in 2025.
“Yeah,” a laughing Marion repeatedly said. “What I was then? I mean, oh my God. I don’t know what it would be right now.”
Marion fared all right in his era now.
A four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection, Marion is one of only four players in NBA history to register at least 17,000 career points, 9,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals and 1,000 blocks.
The other three — Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone and Kevin Garnett — are in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Marion is not. Come on now.
“Everything I’ve done is signed, sealed and delivered,” Marion said. “They say men lie, women lie. Numbers don’t, though, right?”
Marion was in Phoenix last week as the Suns invited former players for their 2026-27 home opener Oct. 24 against the Golden State Warriors at Mortgage Matchup Center.
The Suns won, 131-122, with Charles Barkley, Marion and many more franchise greats in the building. Marion was inducted into the franchise’s ‘Ring of Honor’ in 2023.
“Those are all guys I have relationships with,” said Suns All-Star Devin Booker, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer after the game.
“I’ve always done my part to pay homage to them. I know the relationships between the older generation and new generations isn't always the best. I go out of my way and pay my respects to those guys. They laid the groundwork for us, especially in this city too. They made their basketball town and they're the reason the fans are here and why they cheer as loud as they do.”
Marion attended Phoenix’s practice at the team's facility the day before the opener, after the Suns were blitzed by the Portland Trail Blazers, 124-83, in the season opener for both teams on Oct. 21.
“I was fortunate I didn’t have a lot of losses like that, but with that being said, you’ve got to shake it off,” said Marion, who won an NBA championship in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks. “It’s an 82-game season. The season isn’t won in one game.”
Marion helped ignite Mike D’Antoni’s historic ‘Seven Seconds or Less’ era in Phoenix with Steve Nash and A’mare Stoudemire that generated 232 wins in four seasons (2004-08).
He later played for Miami, Toronto, Dallas and Cleveland, retiring after the 2014-15 season. He won an NBA championship with the Mavericks in 2011
Playing fast and hoisting 3s with small ball lineups, Phoenix posted two 60-win seasons and back-to-back trips to the Western Conference finals in a three-year span from 2004-07 during Marion's time with the Suns.
Marion’s importance during that impressive run can’t be overstated.
He guarded bigger power forwards who played more with their back to the basket and took advantage of them on the offensive end with his quickness.
Leading the NBA in steals twice, Marion impacted the game with his speed, athleticism and versatility. The 6-7 forward averaged 18.4 points, 10 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.4 blocks in nine seasons with the Suns, who drafted him ninth overall out of UNLV in 1999.
Nash is in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Class of 2018.
Stoudemire and D’Antoni joined together this past summer.
Marion was in Springfield, Mass., to support, but he’s still waiting for his HOF call.
Come on now.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why Suns legend Shawn Marion believes he belongs in Hall of Fame
