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

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played as a

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

. 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 Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, a sports talk station in Oklahoma City.

Professional career

Seattle SuperSonics (2000–2003)

Desmond Mason was drafted out of

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

by the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

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 The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

. He also finished in second place in the 2003 contest behind

Jason Richardson Jason Anthoney Richardson (born January 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pic ...

Milwaukee Bucks (2003–2005)

In 2003, Mason and

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played the point guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best known for his 13-year tenure with t ...

were traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

in exchange for

Ray Allen Walter Ray Allen Jr. (born July 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in ...

and

Ronald Murray Ronald "Flip" Murray (born July 29, 1979) is a retired American professional basketball player who last played for Al Mouttahed Tripoli of the Lebanese Basketball League. He is a , point guard– shooting guard. After attending Strawberry Mans ...

. 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. On November 30, 2004, Mason led all scorers with 32 points in a 95-90 loss against the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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 New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in exchange for

Jamaal Magloire Jamaal Dane Magloire (born May 21, 1978) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who currently serves as basketball development consultant and community ambassador for the Toronto Raptors. He played 12 seasons in the National Basketbal ...

.Mason says he's happy to be back in Milwaukee
July 23, 2007 On January 6, 2007, Mason scored 28 points in a Hornets loss against the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

Return to 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.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2008–2009)

On August 13, 2008, Mason was traded to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

(the relocated Seattle SuperSonics franchise) in a three-team, six-player deal involving the Thunder, the

and the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, that sent Milwaukee's

Mo Williams Maurice Williams (born December 19, 1982) is the head men's basketball coach at Jackson State University and a former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful high scho ...

to Cleveland, Mason and Cleveland's Joe Smith to Oklahoma City, and Cleveland's

Damon Jones Damon Darron Jones (born August 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who was an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A combo guard, he played college baske ...

and Oklahoma City's

Luke Ridnour Lukas Robin Ridnour (born February 13, 1981) is an American retired professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school career Ridnour was born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and grew up in Blaine, Washington. His fa ...

and

Adrian Griffin Adrian Darnell Griffin Sr. (born July 4, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA as a shooting guard ...

to Milwaukee.

Sacramento Kings (2009)

On September 17, 2009, Mason signed a contract with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

at league minimum. 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 3 and a half minutes and recorded no stats other than 1 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 Byron Antom Scott (born March 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, Scott won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their S ...

) Thomas Scott's house and we put it down and then they wanted to put a video to it. It was just for fun."Mason Delivers Unique Motivational ‘Speech’
/ref> 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." In July 2018, Mason also appeared as a guest on a chartered

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

on Season 3 of the show

Below Deck Mediterranean ''Below Deck Mediterranean'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on May 3, 2016. Developed as the first spin-off of ''Below Deck'', it has aired seven seasons. An 8th season has been announced to premiere in 2023. Th ...

, initially in an episode entitled "Panic at the Deck-O" on the

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

network in the United States.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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, 75 , , 20 , , 32.3 , , .464 , , .271 , , .848 , , 4.7 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , .4 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , 15 , , 34.8 , , .436 , , .291 , , .740 , , 6.4 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .4 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 28 , , 25 , , 34.0 , , .474 , , .294 , , .765 , , 6.7 , , 2.4 , , .7 , , .4 , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 31 , , 30.9 , , .472 , , .231 , , .769 , , 4.4 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .3 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 71 , , 36.2 , , .443 , , .125 , , .802 , , 3.9 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , .3 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New Orleans/Oklahoma City , 70 , , 55 , , 30.0 , , .399 , , .167 , , .682 , , 4.3 , , .9 , , .6 , , .2 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New Orleans/Oklahoma City , 75 , , 75 , , 34.3 , , .452 , , .000 , , .663 , , 4.6 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .3 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 59 , , 56 , , 28.8 , , .482 , , .000 , , .659 , , 4.3 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , .5 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

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Playoffs

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, 5 , , 5 , , 41.0 , , .421 , , .333 , , .588 , , 6.2 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .4 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

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, 6 , , 6 , , 34.0 , , .509 , , .000 , , .710 , , 7.0 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

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Artwork

Mason majored in studio art in college, and at one point considered becoming an art teacher. He works with a variety of media, such as

oil paint Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varn ...

acrylic paint Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Depe ...

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

, and

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

. In 2004, he founded the Desmond Mason Art Show, which supports a variety of charitable organizations. His works have been on display at museums and galleries, such as the

Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum The Gaylord-Pickens Museum is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It is home to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame The Oklahoma Hall of Fame was founded in 1927 by Anna B. Korn to officially celebrate Statehood Day, recognize Oklahomans dedicated ...

.Desmond Mason's "Generation Next: Chapter Two" art exhibit opens Friday at Oklahoma Heritage Museum
/ref> Mason has been described as an

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

. "I paint by emotion so everything I create is a piece of me to some extent", he said in 2013. Mason helped make a series of art murals in Milwaukee following the Bucks NBA Championship win in 2021.

References

External links

*
Rap song by Mason about the Hornets' roster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Desmond 1977 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Texas Milwaukee Bucks players New Orleans Hornets players Oklahoma City Thunder players Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball players People from Waxahachie, Texas Waxahachie High School alumni Sacramento Kings players Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players Shooting guards Small forwards 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople