John Mason is the
public address announcer for the
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...
' basketball games at
Little Caesars Arena
Little Caesars Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Midtown Detroit. Opened on September 5, 2017, the arena, which cost $862.9 million to construct, replaced Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of ...
who is best known for his 18-years as the host of ''Mason in The Morning'' show, which aired on
WJLB
WJLB (97.9 FM) is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an urban contemporary format.
WJLB's studios are located in Farmington Hills. WJLB's transmitter is located in Highland Park near the intersection o ...
, and for his colorful introductions, and is credited with coining the popular chant "Deeeeee-troit basketball!"
Mason's flamboyant voice has been requested at many sporting events, and he was chosen to serve as the PA announcer at the
2007 NBA All-Star Game
The 2007 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 18, 2007, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2006–07 season. It was the 56th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the Univer ...
in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. He also served as the announcer for the international ALL-STAR game in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
&
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
in 2005. Mason is very popular with his announcing during nationally televised games. When the
NBA on ESPN
The ''NBA on ESPN'' is the branding used for the presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games on the ESPN family of networks. The ESPN cable network first televised NBA games from 1982 until 1984, and has been airing games curren ...
or the
NBA on ABC
The ''NBA on ABC'' is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by ESPN, and televised on ABC. After the ABC Sports division was integrated with its cable sister network in September 2006, broadcasts have s ...
features a Detroit Pistons home game, both networks put him on TV when he introduces the starting lineups.
Career
Mason is also a radio personality in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. He was the host of the extremely popular "Mason in The Morning" on
WJLB
WJLB (97.9 FM) is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an urban contemporary format.
WJLB's studios are located in Farmington Hills. WJLB's transmitter is located in Highland Park near the intersection o ...
for 18 years. He was also host of his own radio show on 102.7/105.9 KISS-FM
WDMK. Mason left
WDMK
WDMK; (105.9 FM, "105.9 Kiss-FM") is a commercial FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, it broadcasts an urban adult contemporary format. The studios and offices are on Radio Plaza in Ferndale.
The station b ...
in July 2006 as his contract had expired. Mason was offered an intriguing contract from the
Cleveland Cavaliers, his hometown team. He declined the offer, saying the Pistons gave him the raw shot to craft his art in their gym. The Pistons have also given Mason the opportunity to serve as PA announcer for an NBA title contender. When Mason replaced longtime Pistons PA announcer Ken Calvert before the start of the 2001-02 NBA season, back when the team still played at
The Palace of Auburn Hills
The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shoc ...
, Detroit soon became a perennial contender for the
NBA Championship
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...
. Mason saw the Pistons win back-to-back
NBA Eastern Conference
The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences that make up the National Basketball Association (NBA), the other being the Western Conference. Both conferences consist of 15 teams organized into three divisions.
The current divisional align ...
titles in 2004 and 2005, and most notably saw them win the NBA title in 2004, upsetting the
Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games. From 2003 to 2008, Mason saw his Detroit Pistons make an impressive 6 consecutive appearances in the
NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
Mason independently owns his morning show, MASON RADIO INC. Mason is perhaps the only morning show personality in a major market to own his own show. Mason's morning show is a syndicated program, which can be heard live from Detroit on the 50 thousand watt powerhouse 107.5
WGPR
WGPR (107.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan, broadcasting an urban contemporary radio format. Owned by the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons, its studios and offices are on East Jefferson Avenue on Detr ...
. Mason also won a television Emmy for an entertainment video show (Urban Chartbusters) on the local
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
station
WDIV
WDIV-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with NBC. It serves as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship broadcast property of the Graham Media Group subsidiary of Graham Holdings, Graham ...
Detroit. Mason has also been an acclaimed motivational speaker in prisons throughout Michigan, and schools and universities in Ohio and Michigan. The
Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
comedy hit, ''
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austr ...
'' starting
Martin Lawrence
Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American comedian and actor. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. He got his start playin ...
that ran from 1992 to 1997, was based on the radio career of John Mason and characters such as Gina Waters, Bruh Man, Tommy Strawn, and Sheneneh Jenkins were also loosely based on Mason's friends, as well as characters on his Detroit radio show.
Currently, Mason is the host of the "Mason and Starr Morning Show" along with female co-host Angie Starr on KISS 105.9 FM Detroit. Mason also had a syndicated weekend show entitled "Once Upon a Time in Soul," which he produced and hosted in conjunction with Angie Starr and Tobias Smith. The show featured his famous radio characters and legendary artist stories.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, John
Living people
Detroit Pistons
National Basketball Association public address announcers
Year of birth missing (living people)