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Chriss Returns to NBA with Mavs, Plays Against McDaniels, Nowell

The one-and-done Husky forward tries to resurrect pro basketball career.
Dan Raley|
Chriss Returns to NBA with Mavs, Plays Against McDaniels, Nowell
Chriss Returns to NBA with Mavs, Plays Against McDaniels, Nowell

Marquese Chriss returned to the NBA on Tuesday night, as a member of the Dallas Mavericks, as Luka Doncic's new best friend.

Still just 24, the former University of Washington forward and current pro basketball journeyman was signed as a COVID-19 hardship roster addition, with multiple Mavs now relegated to protocol situations.

Chriss played only two games for the Golden State Warriors last year and didn't make it out of training camp with the Portland Trail Blazers as his career has tailed off some in six seasons.

He joins a Mavericks team headed up by Doncic, someone Chriss tangled with two years ago in a memorable skirmish (see accompanying tweet) that sent the Dallas superstar flying into a pool of court-side photographers. 

The Mavericks didn't hesitate in putting the 6-foot-9 big man to work, sending him onto the floor for 16 minutes on Tuesday night in a 114-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Dallas.

Chriss came up with 6 points and 8 rebounds, which included a dunk and 3-for-5 shooting, plus a block.

He was on the floor at times with former Huskies Jaden McDaniels and Jaylen Nowell, neither of whom were teammates of his in Seattle. McDaniels, a second-year pro, finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds for the Timberwolves, while Nowell, a third-year pro, contributed 8 points for Minnesota.

Chriss is on a 10-day contract, with teams permitted to sign up to four players because of the pandemic surge making others unavailable.

Similar to McDaniels, he was a one-and-done Husky in 2016, leaving the program with fellow UW freshman Dejounte Murray for the NBA, and he was the eighth pick overall in the draft.

Considering how his career has ebbed some, Chriss might have benefited from another year or two of college ball.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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