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Suns forward Shawn Marion didn't have the luxury of playing against a teammate or the computer for his review of NBA Courtside 2002 on Nintendo's GameCube. Not only did he face the challenge of competing against natural video game experts – young NBA fans – but he had to do it in front of both a live audience and thousands of people worldwide watching on NBATV.
Marion's a mellow guy and met this daunting task with little visible trepidation. In fact, he even smiled now and then. But his opponents were all business. Here's how it worked: Three fans were randomly selected from the live audience at the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue while they were awaiting Marion's appearance. Each youngster got to play against Marion for a quarter and the one who scored the most points would come back for the fourth quarter. The teams were set as the Suns for Marion and the Knicks for the kids, as a preview for the next night's real life matchup.
The Lineups:
| Suns (Marion) | Knicks (Young Fans) |
 Stephon Marbury | Mark Jackson |
| Penny Hardaway | Allan Houston |
| Shawn Marion | Latrell Sprewell |
| Tom Gugliotta | Kurt Thomas |
| Jake Tsakalidis | Marcus Camby |
Game Play:
First Quarter:
Marion's first opponent, Josh, had the first word with a jumper from Jackson to give the Knicks the early lead so Marion had to bring out the heavy hitter – himself. Cyber Marion hit two early threes before entrusting a shot to a teammate, but fortunately, Hardaway validated the choice with a nasty slam. Josh answered with a Houston jumper and then cyber Marion scored the next three points off a scoop shot and then a free throw. After a one-handed runner by cyber Marion gives the Suns the 13-11 lead, the Knicks are rebuffed twice when Jackson attempts jumpers and gets blocked by Hardaway. Snuff, snuff. On the third attempt, the ball goes to Camby and he finally puts it in the basket to tie the game. Cyber Marion dunks with 9.7 seconds left then swipes the inbounds pass and hits a jumper as time expires. 1st: PHO 17, NYK 13
Key Stat: Marion hit 6-of-6 shots for 14 of the Suns' 17 first-quarter points.
Second Quarter:
To add further confusion to this format, Marion's second opponent is also named Josh. We'll call him Josh II and although he came into the game with a four-point deficit, he's really just trying to beat Josh I's 13 quarter points. Naw, who are we kidding? Josh II wants to beat Marion too.
Marion opens the quarter with a jumper from his cyber self, but Josh II throws down the gauntlet by Houston sinking two consecutive jumpers. Cyber Marion returns the gap to four points, but Houston hits a runner and then cyber Marion loses the ball out of bounds. Josh II takes full advantage of the misstep with a resounding Sprewell dunk to tie the score. Cyber Marion puts the oop on Hardaway's alley, but Thomas answers with a powerful slam of his own. Perhaps too powerful. "He don't dunk like that," Marion scoffs.
A Marbury trey gives the Suns the 28-25 lead, but Houston matches it with a long jumper and the Knicks capitalize on a cyber Marion miss with a Sprewell jam. The crowd at the NBA Store gives a collective "oooh" and Marion frowns at his cyber teammates. Suddenly, not only has Josh II made up his four-point deficit, but he's now leading Marion's Suns. Cyber Marion dunks to end the quarter, but the game stands at a draw. Half: PHO 30, NYK 30
Halftime stats:
Suns: 13-of-17 FG, 3-of-4 treys, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover
Marion – 24 points
Knicks: 14-of-21 FG, 2-of-6 treys, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover
Houston – 14 points, Sprewell – 8 points
Third Quarter:
The Josh streak gets broken with Marion's third opponent, Jacob, who needs to beat Josh II's 17 quarter points. But the third quarter is plagued by bad shooting on both sides. Marion re-takes the lead via a jumper from his cyber self and a nifty little spin move by Sprewell returns the match to a tie. Hardaway hits a jumper, but the Knicks then go on a 6-0 run to take the largest lead of the game, 38-34.
Marion has to up the ante so he shifts over to three-point shots. He notices that Marbury has heated up, so he takes the offensive strategy away from his cyberself and starts hitting his point guard. Marbury, in return, hits a pair of threes to give the Suns a two-point lead as the quarter ends. 3rd: PHO 40, NYK 38
Key stat: Marbury hit 2-of-5 shots, both three-point attempts, for six of the Suns' 10 third-quarter points
Fourth Quarter:
Because Jacob could only eke out eight points in the third quarter, fourth quarter honors go to Josh II who returns with only a two-point deficit this time. He makes it up easily with a Houston jumper to square the game. Both players are in full competition mode now, ignoring the cheers and jeers of the NBA Store crowd.
Marbury hits a jumper, which meets the observation of "Starbury's on fire" from Marion. But he's not about to complete cede the offense to his teammate and cyber Marion scores the next basket on a pump fake slam. Hardaway sinks a bank shot and the Suns' six-point lead is the largest of the game. Josh II gets back into it by hitting two of the next three attempts, including a Houston shot that goes glass and earns an approving nod from Marion. "Good shot," he says.
Cyber Marion is not so admiring, however and answers with a reverse slam. Gugliotta jumps into the offensive fray with a jumper as the Suns pull away with an eight-point advantage. Jackson hits from 15 feet (or an inch and a half on the cyber court), but those will be the last Knick points. Jackson fouls Hardaway well behind the arc and he sinks all three free throw attempts shortly before time expires. Final: PHO 55, NYK 46
Final stats:
Suns: 23-of-37 FG, 5-of-8 treys, 10 rebounds, 3 turnovers
Marion – 28 points, Marbury 10 points
Knicks: 22-of-40 FG, 2-of-10 treys, 6 rebounds, 2 turnovers
Houston – 20 points, Sprewell – 14 points
Parting Shots:
"The game was cool. I like graphics and everything about the game," was Marion's reaction. But he also felt the need to explain why he didn't dominate as expected. "The only thing was I'm so used to playing different game systems, it's hard to get used to the buttons because they're in different positions and they feel weird. But I got the hang of it a little bit."
 Video: 740k avi | Quicktime Dunk: 740k avi | Quicktime |
And while he showed appreciation for Josh II's Courtside skills, Marion had to give one last disclaimer. "He had already played it before! He told me! He had that advantage on me. But I got the hang of it a little. You know, once I play a game, I get used to it real quick."
Marion was able to escape from the NBA Store with a Courtside win, despite his strong challengers. If only his real-life Suns had been so lucky. They fell to the Knicks, 96-91.
© 2002 Nintendo. The NBA and individual NBA member Team identifications used on or in this product are trademarks, copyrighted designs and other forms of intellectual property of NBA Properties, Inc. and the respective NBA member Teams and may not be used, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of NBA Properties, Inc. © 2001 NBA Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
