Ma Jian (basketball)

Ma Jian
马健
Personal information
Born	20 August 1969 (age 55); Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
Career information
College	Utah Valley Community College (junior); University of Utah
Playing career	1985–2003
Career history
1995–1996	Hapee Cavity Fighters
1997	Beijing Ducks
1998-2001	Beijing Olympians
2002-2003	Shanghai Sharks
Men's basketball
Representing China
Asian Games
FIBA Under-18 Asia Cup

Ma Jian (simplified Chinese: 马健; traditional Chinese: 馬健; pinyin: Mǎ Jiàn; born 20 August 1969 in Shijiazhuang, Hebei) is a former 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.^[1]

Attempting to break into the NBA, Ma was able to play exhibition games with the Phoenix Suns 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.^[1] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[2]

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.^{[citation needed]}

He also competed in the 1990 Asian Games and the 1992 Summer Olympics for the Chinese men's national basketball team. His decision to pursue a career in the United States reportedly led to his exclusion to the Chinese national team.^[1]^[3]

Filmography

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role
2010	Lost on Journey	人在囧途	Vendor
	Welcome to Shama Town	决战刹马镇	Gui Zhong
	Seven Arhat	七小罗汉	Big Idiot
	You Deserve to Be Single	活该你单身	Bald patient
2011	The Founding of a Party	建黨偉業	School janitor
2012	The Assassins	銅雀臺	Guard commander

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Taylor, Scott (11 July 1996). "Chinese National Team Says no to Ma". Deseret News. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
^ Terrado, Reuben (23 January 2022). "Remembering Chinese import Ma Jian's stint with Hapee in PBL". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
^ Riminton, Hugh (17 May 2005). "Ma Jian paved way for sports fame". CNN.com International. Retrieved 24 January 2022.

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[deseret-1] Taylor, Scott (11 July 1996). "Chinese National Team Says no to Ma". Deseret News. Retrieved 24 January 2022.

[2] Terrado, Reuben (23 January 2022). "Remembering Chinese import Ma Jian's stint with Hapee in PBL". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 24 January 2022.

[3] Riminton, Hugh (17 May 2005). "Ma Jian paved way for sports fame". CNN.com International. Retrieved 24 January 2022.

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