Tim Thomas had an eventful time during his one-and-a-half-season-long stint with the Knicks, as he got involved with some of the most famous musicians in the city.

Rappers 50 Cent and Fat Joe had a well-known spat in the early 2000s that stemmed from verbal jabs at each other during the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. The beef made people all over the country take sides, as these were two of the biggest names in music and pop culture.

New York Knicks players Tim Thomas and Stephon Marbury became involved in the beef, which impacted their relationship on and off the court. They took each side, with Thomas supporting 50, while Marbury sided with Fat Joe.

“For me right, I played for Fat Joe in the Rucker. Me and Steph grew up together so I already had relationships with most of Terror Squad. 50 was my guy, so I rocked with 50,” Tim Thomas said on All The Smoke. “We on the team together, but I was rocking with G-Unit, and he’s rocking with Terror Squad… It showed on the court.”

The beef’s impact on the court

There was drama between the two players, which was noticeable when watching Knicks games. Sometimes, Starbury made pinpoint passes, but then he would make an errant feed to Thomas on other plays. It was weird to see, considering how much time these two players spent together even before they were teammates. Thomas and Marbury grew up in the same area, which meant this beef between their close rapper friends was hurting a long-standing friendship.

The former Villanova Wildcat lamented that he lost a friend amidst the beef. It was a shame, as Thomas knew Stephon’s parents and siblings. Losing a group of friends like that will hurt, especially when it’s an immature beef between rappers that affects their relationship as friends and teammates.



The current state of the relationships

Thankfully, 50 Cent and Fat Joe have reconciled and squashed their beef. The former even regretted dragging Fat Joe and his Terror Squad into a beef with another rapper, Ja Rule. Nowadays, 50 and Joe are hanging out with each other, as the latter even appeared on the Final Lap Tour in the summer of 2023. The duo even went to a Knicks game together with matching fur coats.

Tim and Steph have also moved on from their past beef. Starbury was a guest on Thomas’ No Nonsense show with Scoop B, where they discussed the beef between one another. They are friends again, which is a good development for a long-standing friendship that dates back to their youth