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Ma Jian
马健
Personal information
Born (1969-08-20) 20 August 1969 (age 54)
Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
NationalityChinese
Career information
CollegeUtah Valley Community College (junior)
University of Utah
Career history
1995–1996Hapee Cavity Fighters
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  China
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1990 Beijing Team

Ma Jian (simplified Chinese: 马健; traditional Chinese: 馬健; pinyin: Mǎ Jiàn; born 20 August 1969 in Shijiazhuang, 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.[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 Notes
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

  1. ^ a b c 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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