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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1966-12-14)December 14, 1966 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | February 28, 2015(2015-02-28) (aged 48) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Springfield Gardens (Queens, New York) |
| College | Tennessee State (1984–1988) |
| NBA draft | 1988: 3rd round, 53rd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Playing career | 1988–2003 |
| Position | Power forward /small forward |
| Number | 42, 34, 14, 17 |
| Career history | |
| 1988–1989 | Efes Pilsen |
| 1989–1990 | New Jersey Nets |
| 1990–1991 | Tulsa Fast Breakers |
| 1990–1991 | Denver Nuggets |
| 1991 | Marinos de Oriente |
| 1991 | Long Island Surf |
| 1991–1996 | New York Knicks |
| 1996–2000 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 2000–2001 | Miami Heat |
| 2001–2003 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 9,656 (10.9 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 7,279 (8.3 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,963 (3.4 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Anthony George Douglas Mason (December 14, 1966 – February 28, 2015) was an American professionalbasketball player. In his 13-year career he played with theNew Jersey Nets,Denver Nuggets,New York Knicks,Charlotte Hornets,Milwaukee Bucks, andMiami Heat of theNational Basketball Association. He averaged 10.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in his 13-year NBA career. Mason earned theNBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1995 and led the NBA in minutes played in the following two seasons. In 1997, he was named to theAll-NBA Third Team and theNBA All-Defensive Second Team. He was selected to the2001 NBA All-Star Game. Mason was a member of the 1993-1994 New York Knicks team that reached the NBA Finals.
Mason played collegiately forTennessee State University and also played professionally inTurkey,Venezuela, theContinental Basketball Association (CBA), and theUnited States Basketball League (USBL).
Mason attendedTennessee State University and was drafted by thePortland Trail Blazers in the third round of the1988 NBA draft (53rd pick), but was cut shortly afterwards. He then played for theEfes Pilsen basketball club in Turkey andMarinos de Oriente inVenezuela and had brief NBA stints with theNew Jersey Nets and theDenver Nuggets.[citation needed]
In the 1990–1991 season, Mason played 26 games for the CBA's Tulsa Fast Breakers, with whom he averaged 29.9 points and 14.8 rebounds per game in his only season in the league.[1][2]
Also in 1991, Mason played as apower forward for theLong Island Surf of the USBL. In his one season with the Surf, Mason was named to the All-USBL First Team, averaging 27.8 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, and he set a league record with 28 rebounds in a game. Ed Krinsky, general manager of the Surf, said, "I really believed he could play in theNBA. He was a huge guy with backcourt skills". Later that year, Mason was already on theNew York Knicks' summer league roster, withPat Riley as coach.[3][4] In the year 2000, in celebration of the USBL's 15th anniversary, USBL fans voted on the "All-15 Team," a collection of the best USBL players from 1985 to 2000, many of whom went on to become renowned NBA stars, with Mason included among the 15.[5]
Mason signed with theNew York Knicks in the summer of 1991. Under coachPat Riley, Mason blossomed inNew York, where he became part of a strong frontcourt alongsidePatrick Ewing,Charles Oakley andCharles Smith. On March 26, 1993, Mason scored a then career high 30 points, along with grabbing 16 rebounds, in a 105–95 win against theLos Angeles Lakers.[6] In 1994, the Knicks reached theNBA Finals for the first time since 1973, but lost in seven games to theHakeem Olajuwon-ledHouston Rockets.[7]
Mason won theNBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1995. He led the league in minutes played in1995–96[8] with 3,457, setting a Knicks team record. In 1996, Mason andBrad Lohaus were traded to theCharlotte Hornets forLarry Johnson.
In Mason's Charlotte debut, on November 2, 1996, he recorded adouble-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds in a 109–98 victory over theToronto Raptors.[9] On February 17, 1997, Mason scored a season-high 28 points (on 11 of 11 shooting from the field), grabbed 12 rebounds, and recorded 9 assists in a 124–110 win against theOrlando Magic.[10] In the 1996–1997 season, Mason recorded career high averages in minutes played (43.1), points (16.2), rebounds (11.4) and assists (5.7). He led the league in minutes. Despite a strong personal showing in the first round of the playoffs, averaging 13 points and 12 rebounds a game, Mason and the Hornets were eliminated by his former team, the Knicks, in a sweep.[11] Following the season, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
During the1997-98 NBA season, Mason took a slight step back with regards to averages, but was still a solid starter, and helped the Hornets advance past the first round of the NBA playoffs by averaging 19.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game during a 3–1 series victory over their division rivalAtlanta Hawks.[12] The following round, the Hornets were eliminated byMichael Jordan and theChicago Bulls.[13]
Mason missed the entire 1998–99 season due to a ruptured bicep.[14] The following year, Mason averaged 11.6 points and 8.5 rebounds in the 1999–2000 season. On March 31 of that season, Mason recorded atriple-double with a career-high 31 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists, in a 110–101 win against the Raptors.[15] Again despite a strong personal season, Mason and the Hornets would be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, this time by thePhiladelphia 76ers.[16]
In 2000, Mason was traded to theMiami Heat along withEddie Jones,Ricky Davis andDale Ellis forJamal Mashburn,P. J. Brown,Tim James,Rodney Buford andOtis Thorpe. In Miami, although Mason had been brought over by Miami coachPat Riley to be a role player on what was thought to have been a contender Heat team, thekidney ailment ofAlonzo Mourning forced Mourning to sit out and made Mason a starter for the team. Mason would respond by finishing second on the team in scoring, with 16.1 points per game, and averaging 9.6 rebounds. With Mourning andGrant Hill selected but unable to play due to injury in the2001 NBA All-Star Game, Mason was chosen to represent the Heat in his only selection to an All-Star team. Mason helped the Heat make the playoffs with a 50 win season for the injury-ravaged squad. Mason, however, virtually disappeared in the playoffs, taking only 13 shots and averaging a mere 5.3 points and 3 rebounds in three games. Mason was waived during the offseason.
Mason signed with the Milwaukee Bucks for the2001–02 season. In Mason's first season with the Bucks, the team stumbled to a 41–41 record (11 games worse than the previous season) and missed the playoffs altogether. Mason's numbers went down as well: 9.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg. Nonetheless, Milwaukee stuck with Mason for another year, waiving him after the2002–03 season. Mason retired from the NBA in 2003.
In the TV seriesNew York Undercover, Mason appeared in two different episodes, playing himself in one. He also plays a pickup player in the 1996 filmEddie, and himself inWoody Allen'sCelebrity.
In addition, Mason appears in theDiamond D hip hop video "Best-Kept Secret," dunking his way through the video on a New York City playground basketball court.[17]
TheBeastie Boys song "B-Boys Makin' with the Freak Freak" from 1994'sIll Communication album mentions him with the lyric "I got my hair cut correct like Anthony Mason".[18]
The Notorious B.I.G. song "I Got a Story to Tell" tells of the supposed event of the rapper sleeping with the girlfriend of a New York Knick in the player's home, and the fall-out that came with the player returning home while the story teller was still present. The identity of the involved player has been contested since the song's release, with many long suspecting the Knick in question to have beenJohn Starks, Mason's teammate of several years.[19] The player in question was alleged, decades later, to be Mason, by rapperFat Joe.[20]
Mason was born in Miami, Florida, and spent most of his childhood in New York City in the borough of Queens.[8]
After being charged with statutory rape in 1998, Mason pleaded guilty to two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.[8]
Mason's son, Anthony Mason Jr., played on theSt. John's UniversityRed Storm basketball team.[21] He completed his eligibility for the2009–10 St. John's Red Storm, and he went on to try out with theMiami Heat,[22] before playing for teams such as theSioux Falls Skyforce andCholet Basket.[23][24] Another son,Antoine, played basketball atAuburn University after transferring there fromNiagara University,[25] where he led the2012–13 Niagara Purple Eagles in scoring as aredshirt sophomore.[26][27]
Mason had aheart attack in early February 2015[28] and was diagnosed withcongestive heart failure. He died on February 28, 2015, in New York City at the age of 48.[29][8]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–90 | New Jersey | 21 | 0 | 5.1 | .350 | — | .600 | 1.6 | .3 | .1 | .1 | 1.8 |
| 1990–91 | Denver | 3 | 0 | 7.0 | .500 | — | .750 | 1.7 | .0 | .3 | .0 | 3.3 |
| 1991–92 | New York | 82 | 0 | 26.8 | .509 | — | .642 | 7.0 | 1.3 | .6 | .3 | 7.0 |
| 1992–93 | New York | 81 | 0 | 30.6 | .502 | — | .682 | 7.9 | 2.1 | .5 | .2 | 10.3 |
| 1993–94 | New York | 73 | 12 | 26.1 | .476 | .000 | .720 | 5.8 | 2.1 | .4 | .1 | 7.2 |
| 1994–95 | New York | 77 | 11 | 32.4 | .566 | .000 | .641 | 8.4 | 3.1 | .9 | .3 | 9.9 |
| 1995–96 | New York | 82 | 82* | 42.2 | .563 | — | .720 | 9.3 | 4.4 | .8 | .4 | 14.6 |
| 1996–97 | Charlotte | 73 | 73 | 43.1 | .525 | .333 | .745 | 11.4 | 5.7 | 1.0 | .5 | 16.2 |
| 1997–98 | Charlotte | 81 | 80 | 38.9 | .509 | .000 | .649 | 10.2 | 4.2 | .8 | .2 | 12.8 |
| 1999–00 | Charlotte | 82 | 81 | 38.2 | .480 | .000 | .746 | 8.5 | 4.5 | .9 | .4 | 11.6 |
| 2000–01 | Miami | 80 | 80 | 40.7 | .482 | — | .781 | 9.6 | 3.1 | 1.0 | .3 | 16.1 |
| 2001–02 | Milwaukee | 82 | 82 | 38.3 | .505 | 1.000 | .697 | 7.9 | 4.2 | .7 | .3 | 9.6 |
| 2002–03 | Milwaukee | 65 | 58 | 32.6 | .486 | .000 | .718 | 6.4 | 3.2 | .5 | .2 | 7.2 |
| Career | 882 | 559 | 34.7 | .509 | .167 | .709 | 8.3 | 3.4 | .7 | .3 | 10.9 | |
| All-Star | 1 | 0 | 20.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | New York | 12 | 0 | 24.0 | .442 | — | .786 | 6.3 | .8 | .2 | .7 | 5.0 |
| 1993 | New York | 15 | 0 | 34.0 | .590 | — | .632 | 7.3 | 2.7 | .7 | .4 | 12.5 |
| 1994 | New York | 25 | 0 | 26.4 | .489 | — | .714 | 5.8 | 1.8 | .6 | .2 | 7.6 |
| 1995 | New York | 11 | 0 | 32.0 | .608 | .000 | .623 | 6.2 | 2.2 | .5 | .5 | 9.5 |
| 1996 | New York | 8 | 8 | 43.8 | .526 | — | .679 | 7.8 | 3.3 | .5 | .1 | 12.6 |
| 1997 | Charlotte | 3 | 3 | 43.7 | .421 | — | .538 | 12.0 | 3.0 | .3 | .3 | 13.0 |
| 1998 | Charlotte | 9 | 9 | 40.8 | .576 | .000 | .595 | 7.9 | 3.4 | .9 | .0 | 15.4 |
| 2000 | Charlotte | 4 | 4 | 44.8 | .474 | .000 | .700 | 9.8 | 5.5 | 1.0 | .5 | 12.5 |
| 2001 | Miami | 3 | 3 | 32.7 | .385 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 1.3 | .3 | .0 | 5.3 |
| 2003 | Milwaukee | 6 | 0 | 26.2 | .412 | — | .692 | 3.3 | .2 | .5 | .2 | 3.8 |
| Career | 96 | 27 | 32.2 | .524 | .000 | .668 | 6.6 | 2.2 | .6 | .3 | 9.5 | |