Shanxi Brave Dragons' Jamaal Franklin during his college stint at San Diego State. Franklin was named CBA Player of the Week for Round 34 of competitions. (Photo : Getty Images)
Shanxi Brave Dragons shooting guard Jamaal Franklin was named as the Chinese Basketball Association's Round 34 Player of the Week after recording a triple-double performance during the team's 129-117 win over the Qingdao Eagles on Jan. 27, Wednesday at the Riverside Sports Arena.
The 24-year-old Franklin, who played in the NBA for two seasons from 2013 to 2015 with the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets respectively, tallied an impressive 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 18 assists during the Brave Dragons' lopsided 12-point home victory over the Eagles, as per Asia-basket.
Franklin, a former San Diego State standout during his college days, shot a remarkable 53.8 percent from the two-point range, going 7-of-13 from inside the arc. He was miserable from the stripe and the three-point line, however, shooting 13-of-21 (62 percent) and 1-of-7 (14 percent) respectively, via 7M CBA Live.
While the win did not affect the overall leaderboard of the current CBA table, it gave Shanxi its second consecutive victory after a two-game slide. The Brave Dragons have also won eight of their last 10 matches because of the win and a few more could give them the chance to enter the playoffs.
Franklin was acquired by the Guangdong Southern Tigers in August of last year, but he left the team without playing a single game after he was recalled to the NBA Developmental League squad Los Angeles D-Fenders.
On December 18, Franklin was released by the D-Fenders and so he signed with Shanxi on the same day. He had played 15 games for the Brave Dragons since he was acquired, leading the team to a 9-6 record so far.
Franklin has thrived in the CBA so far, pouring a high output in scoring with 33.1 points per game (fifth-best in the league), and solid averages of 3.3 steals and 1.5 blocks for Shanxi.
The runner-up performance for Round 34 is that of former Los Angeles Clippers point guard Willie Warren, who now plays for Zhejiang Golden Bulls.
Warren, who had already won the CBA Player of the Week award during Round 32, registered a notable double-double of 47 points and 10 assists to lead the Golden Bulls to a 113-105 win over Shenzhen Leopards.
