Frank Leo Mason III (born April 3, 1994) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for

SLUC Nancy Basket Stade Lorrain Université Club Nancy Basket, commonly referred to as SLUC Nancy Basket, is a French professional basketball club based in Nancy. The club currently competes in the LNB Pro A, the top league in France, and holds two league titles. S ...

of the LNB Pro A. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, where he was the starting point guard for the Jayhawks. For the 2016–17 season, he was the consensus National Player of the Year He was also a consensus All-American selection for his senior season at Kansas. Mason was selected 34th overall in the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

by 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 ...

, where he spent two seasons before signing with 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 ...

as a free agent in July 2019. He signed with the Orlando Magic in February 2021.

Early life

Mason grew up in

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Econ ...

and went to Petersburg High School. He scored 1,901 points in his four-year career at Petersburg, which is the second-highest scoring total in school history behind

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Moses Malone Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cen ...

. Mason had originally signed to attend

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincor ...

during his senior year, but he lost his eligibility after failing a government class. Mason attended Massanutten Military Academy in

Woodstock, Virginia Woodstock is a town and the county seat of Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It has a population of 5,212 according to the 2017 census. Woodstock comprises 3.2 square miles of incorporated area of the town, and is located along the ...

to make up for the failing grade in government. After being discovered playing the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

circuit by Kansas Assistant Coach

Kurtis Townsend Kurtis Townsend (born December 13, 1957) is an American basketball coach who is an assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Townsend was an assistant on the Jayhawks 2007–08 and 2021-22 NCAA national championship team. ...

, Mason was offered a scholarship by the

College career

As a sophomore at Kansas, he was a second team All Big 12 selection. He averaged 12.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game as a sophomore, an increase from the 5.5 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game he averaged as a freshman. During his junior season, Mason averaged 12.9 points and 4.6 assists and was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. During his senior season, Mason took on more of a leadership role on the Kansas team, becoming the first player in Big 12 history to average 20 points and 5 assists a game during the regular season. His regular season culminated in receiving multiple awards. He was unanimously selected as the Big 12 Player of the Year, averaging 20.5 points and 5.1 assists in the regular season. He was also consensus first team All-American selection, the NCAA-leading 29th first-team selection in Kansas basketball history. He was the consensus National Player of the Year.

Professional career

Sacramento Kings (2017–2019)

Mason was drafted by the

with the 34th pick in the

. He played in the NBA Summer League for the Kings, where he scored 24 points in 24 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers on July 10, 2017, adding 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. For the full 2017–18 regular NBA season, Mason averaged 7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 52 games. Mason was waived by the Kings on July 4, 2019.

Milwaukee Bucks (2019–2020)

Mason signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the

on July 26, 2019. In the deal, he split time between the Bucks and their

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

affiliate, the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was annou ...

. In the G League, he scored 44 points in a win over the

Grand Rapids Drive The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim ...

on February 19, 2020. Mason was awarded the NBA G League MVP for the 2019–20 season on June 25, 2020. He averaged 26.4 points, 5.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game with the Herd.

Orlando Magic (2021)

On December 18, 2020, Mason signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, but was waived the next day and signed with their

affiliate, the

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware, and are affiliated with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The team was found ...

. However, on February 3, 2021 the Orlando Magic signed him to a

right before the beginning of the G League season. However, Mason was waived on February 15 after playing in four games. Two days later, he was re-acquired by Delaware, but was waived on March 5 after suffering a season-ending injury. He didn't log any minutes with the Blue Coats.

South Bay Lakers (2021–2022)

Mason joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the

2021 NBA Summer League The 2021 NBA Summer League was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The summer league cons ...

. On October 13, 2021, Mason signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and was waived the following day. On October 23, he signed with the

South Bay Lakers The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Los Angeles. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first National Basketball Associa ...

as an affiliate player. In seven games, he averaged 9.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Wisconsin Herd (2022)

On February 24, 2022, Mason was traded, along with a 2022 first-round pick, to the

in exchange for

Tremont Waters Tremont Waters (born January 10, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Metropolitans 92 of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers. Early life and high school career Waters played at South Kent Schoo ...

and a 2022 second-round pick.

Beirut Club (2022–2023)

In Summer 2022, he signed with Beirut Club of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB). Currently, the leagu ...

SLUC Nancy (2023–present)

On January 15, 2023, he signed with

of the LNB Pro A.

National team career

Mason and the Kansas Jayhawks competed on behalf of the United States in the 2015 World University Games. He scored 18 points in a double-overtime victory over Germany in the gold medal game and received the Finals MVP award.

Personal life

He grew up in the housing project of Pin Oak Estates located in Petersburg, Virginia, where he developed his game and earned the nickname "The Phenom" by local onlookers within the community. Mason has a son named Amari.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, , 52 , , 2 , , 18.9 , , .379 , , .360 , , .817 , , 2.5 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, , 38 , , 0 , , 11.4 , , .420 , , .219 , , .684 , , 1.1 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .1 , , 5.1 , - , 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 ...

, , 9 , , 0 , , 13.1 , , .451 , , .286 , , .588 , , 2.1 , , 3.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, , 4 , , 1 , , 19.8 , , .375 , , .400 , , .714 , , 3.0 , , 3.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 6.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , , 103 , , 3 , , 15.7 , , .396 , , .301 , , .755 , , 2.0 , , 2.6 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.7

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , , , , , , , .0 , , 0.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 2 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , , , , , , , .0 , , 0.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, , 35 , , 3 , , 16.1 , , .417 , , .327 , , .662 , , 1.3 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , .0 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, , 36 , , 36 , , 33.5 , , .441 , , .429 , , .786 , , 3.9 , , 3.9 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, , 38 , , 38 , , 33.5 , , .434 , , .381 , , .739 , , 4.3 , , 4.6 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, , 36 , , 36 , , 36.1 , , .490 , , .471 , , .794 , , 4.2 , , 5.2 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 20.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , , 145 , , 113 , , 30.0 , , .454 , , .420 , , .761 , , 3.4 , , 4.0 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 13.0

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Frank III 1994 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Virginia Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade Milwaukee Bucks players Orlando Magic players Point guards Sacramento Kings draft picks Sacramento Kings players SLUC Nancy Basket players South Bay Lakers players Sportspeople from Petersburg, Virginia Universiade medalists in basketball United States men's national basketball team players Universiade gold medalists for the United States Wisconsin Herd players