In 2006, the chain announced its partnership with NBA point guard Stephon Marbury, a joint venture in which the chain would produce Marbury's Starbury Collection, a 50-item line of discount clothing, athletic clothing, and sneakers. The centerpiece of the line was the Starbury One, a basketball sneaker that retailed for $14.98. The low price point for an authentic on-court NBA shoe was positioned as a social statement, including donations of thousands of pairs to public school basketball players, with publicity that caused lines and sold-out conditions at many Steve & Barry’s stores. Marbury liked the high-quality, low price-point promise, which, as he later said, meant "we can help teach kids to be responsible, earn their own money and buy these shoes without asking their parents for money." When the collection was unveiled in August 2006, Marbury committed his time and energy by handing out Starburys to high school athletes at basketball camps, on playground courts and in barber shops. He wore on-court exactly the same shoes that consumers got off the shelves. In March 2007, the company announced that then Chicago Bulls center, and 4-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Wallace, would endorse the Starbury brand, wearing Starbury's during all his games and debuting his own Big Ben Starbury sneaker in the 2007-08 NBA season.