Marquese De'Shawn Chriss (born July 2, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-1 ...

and was selected in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft with the eighth overall pick by the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. He eventually was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team as a member of the Phoenix Suns.

Early life and high school

As a youth growing up in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, Chriss played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

. Between fifth grade and eighth grade, he showed promise as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

. However, during a game in his eighth-grade season, Chriss landed awkwardly on his shoulder while attempting to catch a long pass and broke his collarbone. His mother subsequently disallowed Chriss to play football from then on, and he was forced to choose

instead. Chriss attended Pleasant Grove High School in

Elk Grove, California Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento. It is part of the Sacramento– Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 Census, the population ...

. As a freshman at Pleasant Grove, Chriss was one of 25 students who showed up for tryouts. The school only had junior varsity and varsity teams, which meant that roster spots were limited, especially for a player like Chriss who previously had zero competitive experience in the sport. Chriss almost didn't make it, but his energy and effort stood out. He began the season as a reserve before eventually working his way into the starting lineup. A year later, he started for the varsity team and led the school to a 28–6 record and a state championship. Colleges began offering Chriss scholarships that season, with the first coming from Northern Arizona University. In January 2014, he committed to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

. As a senior in 2014–15, Chriss averaged 21.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. Scout ranked him as the No. 55 recruit in the nation for the class of 2015 and Rivals ranked him as the No. 56 recruit, while ESPN and 247Sports.com both ranked him at No. 60.

College career

Chriss had a phenomenal start at

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, recording a double-double with a season-high 29 points and 10 rebounds in the second game of the season against Mount St. Mary's. In the following weeks, however, his production dipped because he developed a habit of collecting unnecessary fouls. He fouled out of three straight non-conference games during the Battle 4 Atlantis in November 2015. His mother stepped in once again with a decision that likely saved his season in terms of productivity. She suggested Chriss consult a sports psychologist, and the Huskies accommodated her request. Chriss was forced to learn to play defense without fouling. He went on to have one of the top freshman campaigns in their program's history, finishing with the fourth-most points by a freshman (467), fifth-most rebounds (183), and the most blocks (55). His three-point shooting improved greatly as the season went on – he shot 6-for-26 (23.1 percent) from beyond the arc during the first 19 games of the season, and went 15-for-34 (44.1 percent) during the last 15 contests. He started all 34 games in 2015–16 and averaged 13.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He subsequently earned honorable mention Pac-12 All-Freshmen selection. On March 23, 2016, Chriss declared for the 2016 NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.

Professional career

Phoenix Suns (2016–2018)

2016–17 season

Throughout the draft process, Chriss went from being a considerable late-lottery or mid-first round talent to rising up in the draft as a potential top 3 draft candidate. In the days leading up to the draft, Chriss agreed to terms on a multi-year footwear and apparel endorsement deal with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

. He ended up being selected with the eighth overall pick in the

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

by the

. Chriss was later traded to the Phoenix Suns on draft night for the draft rights to Bogdan Bogdanović and the rights of the 13th and 28th picks of the draft, Georgios Papagiannis and Skal Labissière. He became the first recruit outside of the top 50 rankings to be drafted in the top 10 as a one-and-done player since the rule was instituted in 2005. On July 7, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Suns and joined the team for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week- ...

. Chriss played in three games for the Suns during the Summer League before developing an illness that ruled him out for the rest of the tournament. Chriss made his debut for the Suns in their season opener on October 26, 2016, against the team that originally drafted him, the Sacramento Kings. In 22 minutes off the bench, he recorded seven points, four rebounds, two assists, and one block in a 113–94 loss. With Chriss playing alongside

Devin Booker Devin Armani Booker (born October 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the son of former basketball player Melvin Booker. After playing college basketba ...

and fellow rookie

Dragan Bender Dragan Bender (born 17 November 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Monbus Obradoiro of the Spanish Liga ACB. He stands and plays the power forward and center positions. He was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fourth ...

, the Suns became the first NBA team to have three teenagers on the floor in the same game. He made his first start for the Suns on November 8 against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, recording seven points, four rebounds, and one block in 20 minutes of play during the 124–121 loss. On December 13, he recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 113–111 overtime win over the New York Knicks. On January 25, 2017, he was named in the U.S. Team for the 2017

Rising Stars Challenge The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. The current format to be used in 2022 includes first- an ...

. Five days later, Chriss had his first 20-point game in a 115–96 loss to the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. On February 2, he was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in January, after averaging 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals for the month. Two days later, he scored a career-high 27 points in a 137–112 loss to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. On March 5, he had a career-best five blocked shots in a 109–106 win over the Boston Celtics. His five blocks were the most by a Suns rookie since

Amar'e Stoudemire Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire ( ; he, אמארה יהושפט סטודמאייר; born November 16, 1982) is an American-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a player development assistant for the Bro ...

had six in November 2002. On March 15, he tied his career high of five blocks in a 107–101 loss to the

. On April 1, he recorded 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a 130–117 loss to Portland. As a rookie, Chriss played in all 82 games—the only Suns player to do so in 2016–17. At the season's end, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, becoming the 14th player in franchise history to be named All-Rookie.

2017–18 season

In July 2017, Chriss re-joined the Suns for the

2017 NBA Summer League The 2017 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Eight teams participated in the wee ...

. In five games, Chriss averaged 14.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game. On December 26, 2017, Chriss tied a career high with 13 rebounds in a 99–97 win over the

. On January 12, 2018, Chriss missed the Suns' game against the Houston Rockets due to a hip injury, ending a streak of 124 consecutive games to begin his career. It was the longest streak by a Sun since Kyle Macy played in the first 329 games of his pro career from 1980 to 1984. He returned to action on January 26 after missing six games, and was 1-for-12 from the field for three points in a 107–85 loss to the New York Knicks. On January 31, in a 102–88 win over the Dallas Mavericks, Chriss reached 100 career steals, three-pointers and blocks at 20 years, 213 days old. He became the third youngest player ever to reach 100 of each with only

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

and

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for t ...

doing so younger. On April 1, Chriss scored a season-high 22 points against the Golden State Warriors. He topped that mark on April 6 with 23 points against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Houston Rockets (2018–2019)

On August 31, 2018, Chriss was traded, alongside Brandon Knight, to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Ryan Anderson and

De'Anthony Melton De'Anthony Melton (born May 28, 1998), nicknamed "Mr. Do Something", is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans of the ...

. On October 30, 2018, after missing the first five games of the season with a sprained left ankle, Chriss made his debut for the Rockets, recording four points and two rebounds in a 104–85 loss to the

. The Rockets declined the $4 million option for the 2019–20 season on Chriss' rookie contract, which would make him a free agent at the conclusion of the season.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2019)

On February 7, 2019, Chriss was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team trade involving the Rockets and

. On March 12, Chriss was suspended for one game without pay due to an altercation with

Serge Ibaka Serge Jonás Ibaka Ngobila (; born 18 September 1989) is a Congolese-Spanish professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Ibaka was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 24th over ...

during a game against the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

Golden State Warriors (2019–2021)

On October 1, 2019, Chriss signed with the Golden State Warriors. He was waived by the Warriors on January 7, 2020, to make room for two-way contract player, Damion Lee, who was given a guaranteed contract for the remainder of the 2019–20 season. Chriss averaged 7.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, earning respect from teammates and coaches. The Warriors faced a hard cap that season that prevented them from keeping both Lee and Chriss. On January 15, the Warriors re-signed Chriss to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

, which was later converted into a 2-year rest-of-season contract. On December 26, 2020, Chriss suffered a broken right leg and missed the rest of the season. On March 25, 2021, Chriss was traded along with cash considerations to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

in exchange for the draft rights to Cady Lalanne. Chriss was waived by the Spurs three days later. On September 23, 2021, Chriss signed with the

, but was waived on October 16 after four preseason games.

Dallas Mavericks (2021–2022)

On December 21, 2021, Chriss signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks. He signed a second 10-day contract with the Mavericks on December 31, and signed a third 10-day contract on January 10, 2022. He signed a two-year contract on January 15. On June 24, 2022, Chriss was traded alongside Boban Marjanović, Trey Burke, Sterling Brown, and the draft rights to Wendell Moore Jr. to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Christian Wood. On September 30, 2022, Chriss was traded, along with Trey Burke, David Nwaba, and Sterling Brown, to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

in exchange for

Derrick Favors Derrick Bernard Favors (born July 15, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Favors played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for one season before being selected by the New Jersey N ...

, Ty Jerome, Maurice Harkless,

Théo Maledon Théo Louis Maledon (born 12 June 2001; pronounced ) is a French professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. He plays ...

and a future second-round pick. On October 17, Chriss was waived by the Thunder.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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, 72 , , 49 , , 21.2 , , .423 , , .295 , , .608 , , 5.5 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , 1.0 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, 16 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .324 , , .067 , , .857 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .1 , , .3 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 27 , , 2 , , 14.6 , , .384 , , .263 , , .684 , , 4.2 , , .6 , , .6 , , .3 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 59 , , 21 , , 20.3 , , .545 , , .205 , , .769 , , 6.2 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 2 , , 0 , , 13.5 , , .357 , , .200 , , .500 , , 6.5 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 34 , , 0 , , 10.2 , , .463 , , .320 , , .667 , , 3.0 , , .5 , , .4 , , .4 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 292 , , 147 , , 18.3 , , .456 , , .290 , , .667 , , 4.7 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .8 , , 7.6

Playoffs

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, 8 , , 0 , , 3.8 , , .500 , , .500 , , .833 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 8 , , 0 , , 3.8 , , .500 , , .500 , , .833 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 24.9 , , .530 , , .350 , , .682 , , 5.4 , , .8 , , .9 , , 1.6 , , 13.7

Personal life

Chriss is the fourth-oldest of 9 brothers and sisters. He has three older and three younger sisters, and is the oldest of four brothers. His father is Steven Chriss. His mother is Shawntae Wright, a licensed clinical social worker in

Placer County, California Placer County ( ; Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn. Placer County is included in the Gre ...

. Chriss' stepfather, Michael Wright, had lived in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

, and the visits to the Northwest were considered an influence to him going to the

References

External links

Washington Huskies bioDraftExpress.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chriss, Marquese 1997 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Sacramento, California Cleveland Cavaliers players Dallas Mavericks players Golden State Warriors players Houston Rockets players Phoenix Suns players Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Kings draft picks Washington Huskies men's basketball players