Ma Jian (; born 20 August 1969 in

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang (; ; Mandarin: ), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijin ...

, Hebei) is a retired professional basketball player from China.

Basketball career

Ma Jian is known for playing college basketball in the United States and was among the first Chinese nationals to play competitive basketball in the United States. He was to play for the UCLA Bruins but he failed the entrance exam due to his lack of fluency in English. He would play junior college for Utah Valley Community College and later play college basketball for two years with the University of Utah. Attempting to break into the NBA, Ma was able to play exhibition games with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

and the Los Angeles Clippers in the team's summer-league programs in 1994. He was among the final cuts for the 1995–96 Clippers roster but he did not feature in any regular games for the Clippers. After being cut, Ma served as commentator for the Clippers games on Chinese radio station KAZN, a 24-hour Mandarin Chinese radio station covering the Los Angeles area. Ma also had a brief stint in the Philippines playing for the Hapee Cavity Fighters of the Philippine Basketball League (PBL). He helped Hapee clinch the 1996 PBL Reinforced Conference title – the first for the franchise. He later returned to China to play for the Beijing Olympians of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), until he left during the 2000–2001 season. He also competed in the

1990 Asian Games The 1990 Asian Games also known as the XI Asiad and the 11th Asian Games ( zh, c=第十一届亚洲运动会, p=Dì shíyī jiè yàzhōu yùndònghuì), were held from September 22 to October 7, 1990, in Beijing, China. This was the first Asian Ga ...

and the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

for the

Chinese men's national basketball team The China men's national basketball team (nickname ''Team Dragon'') represents the People's Republic of China in international basketball tournaments. The national team is governed by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Based on the numb ...

. His decision to pursue a career in the United States reportedly led to his exclusion to the Chinese national team.

Filmography

References

1969 births Living people Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball players at the 1990 Asian Games Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Hebei Beijing Olympians players Chinese Basketball Association players Chinese expatriate basketball people in the Philippines Chinese expatriate basketball people in the United States Chinese men's basketball players 1990 FIBA World Championship players Olympic basketball players for China Sportspeople from Shijiazhuang Utah Utes men's basketball players Male actors from Hebei Chinese male film actors 21st-century Chinese male actors Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games {{PRChina-basketball-bio-stub