Once a fan-favorite during his brief stint with the Golden State Warriors, it's now been well over three years since former top 10 pick Marquese Chriss played in an NBA game.
The now 28-year-old has continued his professional career though, most recently signing a new deal with the Shandong Heroes of the Chinese Basketball Association where he played last year.
Chriss averaged 28.4 minutes in his 40 appearances for the Heroes last season, posting 20.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals on 44.9% shooting from the floor and 25.2% from 3-point range.
An old Marquess Chriss quote recently did the rounds on social media
While we're now well removed from Chriss' ultimately short tenure with the Warriors, now and again you'll still see fans bring up his name as one of the rare positives from what was a disastrous 2019-20 season with the franchise.
An old clip of Chriss on The Backyard Podcast from over two years ago recently did the rounds on social media, with the former eighth overall pick speaking about the beauty of the Warrior offense and how it simplified the game for him.
"If you're standing, you're doing something wrong. You should be screening for somebody, you should be passing to somebody, you should be cutting. I think, like I said, it simplified the game for me," Chriss said.
Marquese Chriss talks about what’s so special about playing in the Warriors offense pic.twitter.com/XB9EX1LeUV
— . (@30Burner_) August 20, 2025
The above clip certainly drew some attention from fans, particularly when it's juxtaposed with the ongoing Jonathan Kuminga free agency saga and the constant talk around the young forward's fit with the franchise. It must be said that Kuminga shares some similarities with Chriss as an athletic high-flyer, though the former has certainly done more in his NBA career already despite still being just 22-years-old.
After originally being drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 2016 and finishing seventh in Rookie of the Year voting, Chriss quickly drew the label of a draft bust to the point where the Houston Rockets (who he was traded to) declined his fourth-year team option.
Following a short period with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chriss briefly revived his career with the Warriors where he averaged 9.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 59 games (including 21 starts) during the 2019-20 season.
Just two games into the following season, Chriss suffered a broken leg at practice which ended his Golden State career as he was later traded to the San Antonio Spurs who promptly waived him. He would go onto play 34 games with the Dallas Mavericks in the 2021-22 season, but that might be it for his NBA career given he's now spent a prolonged period out of the league.