Desmond Mason

Desmond Tremaine Mason (born October 11, 1977) is an American painter and former professional basketball player. 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.

Desmond Mason
Mason with the Bucks in 2008
Personal information
Born (1977-10-11) October 11, 1977
Waxahachie, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight222 lb (101 kg)
Career information
High schoolWaxahachie (Waxahachie, Texas)
CollegeOklahoma State (1996–2000)
NBA draft2000: 1st round, 17th overall pick
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career2000–2009
PositionSmall forward / shooting guard
Number24, 34
Career history
2000–2003Seattle SuperSonics
2003–2005Milwaukee Bucks
2005–2007New Orleans Hornets
2007–2008Milwaukee Bucks
2008–2009Oklahoma City Thunder
2009Sacramento Kings
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points7,767 (12.1 ppg)
Rebounds2,863 (4.5 rpg)
Assists1,049 (1.6 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Professional career

Seattle SuperSonics (2000–2003)

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]

Milwaukee Bucks (2003–2005)

In 2003, Mason and Gary Payton were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Ray Allen and Ronald Murray. The trade would be remembered as one of the worst trades in Milwaukee sports history, Payton left as a free agent the following offseason and while Mason showed improvement from his Seattle days, he was no replacement for all-star-level Allen.[2] On November 30, 2004, Mason led all scorers with 32 points in a 95–90 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers.[3]

New Orleans Hornets (2005–2007)

On October 26, 2005, Mason was traded, along with a first-round draft pick in the 2006 NBA draft, to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Jamaal Magloire.[4] On January 6, 2007, Mason scored 28 points in a Hornets loss against the Indiana Pacers.[5]

Second stint with Milwaukee (2007–2008)

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.[4]

Oklahoma City Thunder (2008–2009)

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.[6]

Sacramento Kings (2009)

On September 17, 2009, Mason signed a contract with the Sacramento Kings at league minimum.[7][8] After playing in just five games (starting four), he was waived by the Kings. Mason's final NBA game was played on November 4, 2009 in a 105–113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. In that game, Mason played three-and-a-half minutes and recorded no stats other than a foul.

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."[9] 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."[9]

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
Legend
  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 781419.5.431.269.7363.2.8.5.35.9
2001–02 Seattle 752032.3.464.271.8484.71.4.9.412.4
2002–03 Seattle 521534.8.436.291.7406.41.8.9.414.1
2002–03 Milwaukee 282534.0.474.294.7656.72.4.7.414.8
2003–04 Milwaukee 823130.9.472.231.7694.41.9.7.314.4
2004–05 Milwaukee 807136.2.443.125.8023.92.7.7.317.2
2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City 705530.0.399.167.6824.3.9.6.210.8
2006–07 New Orleans/Oklahoma City 757534.3.452.000.6634.61.5.7.313.7
2007–08 Milwaukee 595628.8.482.000.6594.32.1.7.59.7
2008–09 Oklahoma City 391927.3.435.000.5414.01.2.4.87.5
2009–10 Sacramento 5413.2.417.000.7502.6.4.2.22.6
Career 64338530.5.449.260.7404.51.6.7.412.1

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002 Seattle 5541.0.421.333.5886.21.8.8.411.8
2003 Milwaukee 6634.0.509.000.7107.0.81.0.713.0
2004 Milwaukee 5539.6.338.000.8464.82.4.8.414.4
Career 161637.9.414.111.7306.11.6.9.513.1

Artwork

Mason majored in studio art in college, and at one point considered becoming an art teacher.[10] He works with a variety of media, such as oil paint, acrylic paint, watercolors, and ceramics.[11] In 2004, he founded the Desmond Mason Art Show, which supports a variety of charitable organizations.[12] His works have been on display at museums and galleries, such as the Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum.[11]

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.[13]

Mason helped make a series of art murals in Milwaukee following the Bucks NBA championship win in 2021.[14]

References
  1. NBA.com: Desmond Mason bio Archived August 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Milwaukee Bucks: Looking back on the Ray Allen trade 15 years later".
  3. "Los Angeles Lakers at Milwaukee Bucks Box Score, November 30, 2004".
  4. Mason says he's happy to be back in Milwaukee July 23, 2007
  5. "Indiana Pacers at New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets Box Score, January 6, 2007".
  6. Cavaliers Acquire Williams in Three-Team Trade, August 13, 2008
  7. "Sacramento Kings News Headlines". NBA.com. September 17, 2009. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  8. Dubow, Josh (September 17, 2009). "Desmond Mason signs deal with Kings". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  9. Mason Delivers Unique Motivational ‘Speech’
  10. FORMER NBA STANDOUT DESMOND MASON SHOWING ARTISTIC SIDE Archived October 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  11. Desmond Mason's "Generation Next: Chapter Two" art exhibit opens Friday at Oklahoma Heritage Museum
  12. About D. Mason Archived February 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  13. Mason releases first edition prints, art book
  14. "Former Bucks player Desmond Mason paints mural in Milwaukee". July 22, 2021.
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