Ma Jian (; born 20 August 1969 in Shijiazhuang, Hebei) is a former professional basketball player from China. He 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.
Early life
Ma was one of two children born to 6'3" basketball coach Ma Deichai and 5'4" Zhang Yumin in Tianjin. At 16 years old, he wanted to become a basketball player. He attended a basketball camp conducted by Jim Harrick, the head coach for the UCLA Bruins.
College career
In 1992, Ma came to the US. He was recruited by Harrick to play for UCLA, but he failed the entrance exam due to his lack of fluency in English.
Ma then transferred to play college basketball for two years with the University of Utah. This made him the first Chinese to play in the NCAA D-1. In his first season under Rick Majerus, he averaged 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds while starting all but one of Utah's 28 games. However, a lack of communication between them led to Ma only averaging 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists with only three starts.
Professional career
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. He was popular in the Philippines, with many Filipino-Chinese fans watching his games live.
He later returned to China to play for the Beijing Olympians of the CBA, until he left during and sued them. He then signed a one-year contract with the Shanghai Sharks.
National team career
Ma first made the China men's national under-19 basketball team in 1986. He then competed in the 1990 Asian Games and the 1992 Summer Olympics for the Chinese men's national basketball team.
Personal life
Ma is married to Simiko Takahashi, a Japanese-American. They have two sons. He has a sports foundation, named after him, that focuses on sports education. After retiring, he became a basketball commentator on television, and covered the 2008 Olympics.