Former Phoenix Suns big man Marquese Chriss is beginning to turn into a star in China, playing for the Shandong Heroes in the Chinese CBA. Though they are only four games into the season, Chriss looks primed to be one of the best players in the entire league, as he is putting up some monster stats.
The Suns selected Chriss with the No. 8 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, and he spent two years with the squad before getting traded to the Houston Rockets. He ended up playing in the NBA for six seasons, jumping around to four more teams after playing with the Suns: The Rockets, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors, and the Dallas Mavericks.
Now, he is seemingly poised to be one of China’s top stars this year.
Former Suns forward Marquese Chriss is a star in China
Chriss’ final year in the NBA came in 2021-22, when he appeared in 34 games for the Mavericks. He was traded twice during the following summer, once to the Rockets and a second time to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but was waived prior to the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
Before making the leap to overseas basketball, Chriss inked a deal with the Wisconsin Herd, the Milwaukee Bucks’ G League affiliate. He spent one season with them before leaving for China.
This season marks his second with the Heroes, where he’s been since leaving the Herd. He played very well during his first campaign, but it looks like he could be even more dominant this season.
Through Chriss’ first four games with the Heroes this season, he has played 31.2 minutes per contest, which is the most of any player on his squad.
He is averaging 26.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks while shooting 49.2% from the floor. Chris is also earning himself 11.8 free throw attempts per contest, making 10.3 of them (87.2%).
Fellow former NBA player Quinndary Weatherspoon is the only player in the entire CBA who is putting up more points than Chriss through the first four games of the season.
Though Chriss never panned out with the Suns, he’s clearly still got the talent to dominate at one of the highest levels of basketball in the world. He’s easily one of the top players in China right now.
Seeing him play the way he has through the first four games of this season is a perfect reminder of just how talented the top one percent of basketball players are.