Desmond Mason
Desmond Tremaine Mason (born October 11, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player, and painter. He played as a shooting guard and small forward. Mason has also found success as an artist, working in a variety of media. Currently, he is an NBA Analyst and Sports radio co-host for The Franchise, a sports talk station in Oklahoma City.
 Mason with the Bucks | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 11, 1977 Waxahachie, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 224 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Waxahachie (Waxahachie, Texas) |
| College | Oklahoma State (1996–2000) |
| NBA draft | 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 17th overall |
| Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
| Playing career | 2000–2009 |
| Position | Small forward / Shooting guard |
| Number | 24, 34 |
| Career history | |
| 2000–2003 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 2003–2005 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2005–2007 | New Orleans Hornets |
| 2007–2008 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2008–2009 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 2009 | Sacramento Kings |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats  at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Career
Desmond Mason was drafted out of Oklahoma State University by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 17th pick of the 2000 NBA draft. In 2001, he became the first SuperSonics' player in franchise history to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. He also finished in second place in the 2003 contest behind Jason Richardson.[1] In 2003, he and Gary Payton were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Ray Allen and Ronald Murray. On October 26, 2005, he was traded along with a first-round draft pick in the 2006 NBA draft to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Jamaal Magloire.[2] On July 23, 2007, Mason signed a contract with the Bucks after a two-season absence. Initially angry with Bucks general manager Larry Harris for trading him in 2005, Mason said he was happy to be back in Milwaukee.[2]
On August 13, 2008, Mason was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder (the relocated Seattle SuperSonics franchise) in a three-team, six-player deal involving the Thunder, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, that sent Milwaukee's Mo Williams to Cleveland, Mason and Cleveland's Joe Smith to Oklahoma City, and Cleveland's Damon Jones and Oklahoma City's Luke Ridnour and Adrian Griffin to Milwaukee.[3] On September 17, 2009, Mason signed a contract with the Sacramento Kings at league minimum.[4][5] After playing in just five games (and starting five), he was waived by the Kings.
Media appearances
In February 2007, Mason recorded a hip-hop video called We Dem Hornets in which he gave an inspirational roll-call of the entire 2006–07 Hornets team. He said: "Brandon (Bass) and I write a lot on the bus... I wrote a song about the team and let them listen to it. I rapped it to them on the bus and on the plane and a lot of the guys really liked it. I tweaked it, cleaned it up, and went over to (videographer intern and son of head coach Byron Scott) Thomas Scott's house and we put it down and then they wanted to put a video to it. It was just for fun."[6] Commenting on the fact that the Hornets started to win after the video was shown, Mason commented: "I think it went over well. They showed it in the locker room and everybody liked it, all of the players liked it. It was done well and (the highlights) fit together really well."[6]
In July 2018, Mason also appeared as a guest on a chartered yacht on Season 3 of the show Below Deck Mediterranean, initially in an episode entitled "Panic at the Deck-O" on the Bravo network in the United States.
NBA career statistics
| 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 |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Seattle | 78 | 14 | 19.5 | .431 | .269 | .736 | 3.2 | .8 | .5 | .3 | 5.9 |
| 2001–02 | Seattle | 75 | 20 | 32.3 | .464 | .271 | .848 | 4.7 | 1.4 | .9 | .4 | 12.4 |
| 2002–03 | Seattle | 52 | 15 | 34.8 | .436 | .291 | .740 | 6.4 | 1.8 | .9 | .4 | 14.1 |
| 2002–03 | Milwaukee | 28 | 25 | 34.0 | .474 | .294 | .765 | 6.7 | 2.4 | .7 | .4 | 14.8 |
| 2003–04 | Milwaukee | 82 | 31 | 30.9 | .472 | .231 | .769 | 4.4 | 1.9 | .7 | .3 | 14.4 |
| 2004–05 | Milwaukee | 80 | 71 | 36.2 | .443 | .125 | .802 | 3.9 | 2.7 | .7 | .3 | 17.2 |
| 2005–06 | New Orleans/Oklahoma City | 70 | 55 | 30.0 | .399 | .167 | .682 | 4.3 | .9 | .6 | .2 | 10.8 |
| 2006–07 | New Orleans/Oklahoma City | 75 | 75 | 34.3 | .452 | .000 | .663 | 4.6 | 1.5 | .7 | .3 | 13.7 |
| 2007–08 | Milwaukee | 59 | 56 | 28.8 | .482 | .000 | .659 | 4.3 | 2.1 | .7 | .5 | 9.7 |
| 2008–09 | Oklahoma City | 39 | 19 | 27.3 | .435 | .000 | .541 | 4.0 | 1.2 | .4 | .8 | 7.5 |
| 2009–10 | Sacramento | 5 | 4 | 13.2 | .417 | .000 | .750 | 2.6 | .4 | .2 | .2 | 2.6 |
| Career | 643 | 385 | 30.5 | .449 | .260 | .740 | 4.5 | 1.6 | .7 | .4 | 12.1 | |
Artwork
Mason majored in studio art in college, and at one point considered becoming an art teacher.[7] He works with a variety of media, such as oil paint, acrylic paint, watercolors, and ceramics.[8] In 2004, he founded the Desmond Mason Art Show, which supports a variety of charitable organizations.[9] His works have been on display at museums and galleries, such as the Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum.[8]
Mason has been described as an abstract expressionist. "I paint by emotion so everything I create is a piece of me to some extent", he said in 2013.[10]
References
- NBA.com: Desmond Mason bio Archived August 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Mason says he's happy to be back in Milwaukee July 23, 2007
- Cavaliers Acquire Williams in Three-Team Trade, August 13, 2008
- "Sacramento Kings News Headlines". NBA.com. September 17, 2009. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- Dubow, Josh (September 17, 2009). "Desmond Mason signs deal with Kings". latimes.com. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- Mason Delivers Unique Motivational ‘Speech’
- FORMER NBA STANDOUT DESMOND MASON SHOWING ARTISTIC SIDE Archived October 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- Desmond Mason's "Generation Next: Chapter Two" art exhibit opens Friday at Oklahoma Heritage Museum
- About D. Mason Archived February 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- Mason releases first edition prints, art book
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com or Basketball-Reference.com
- Desmond Mason Art
- Rap song by Mason about the Hornets' roster