Makai Mason (born May 4, 1995) is an American-German professional basketball player who last played for

Baxi Manresa Baxi is part of BDR Thermea, one of Europe's largest manufacturers and distributors of domestic and commercial water and space heating systems. Baxi employs 6,400 people throughout Europe, with a turnover exceeding €1.2 billion. The gr ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

. He played college basketball for the Yale Bulldogs and

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to j ...

Early life

A Greenfield, Massachusetts, native, Mason attended The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. He garnered

NEPSAC The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) is an organization that serves as the governing body for sports in preparatory schools and leagues in New England. The organization has 169 full member schools as well as 24 associate ...

Class A Player of the Year honors as a senior and enrolled at Yale University in 2014.

College career

In his first year in college, Mason appeared in 31 games for the Bulldogs with per-game averages of 6.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists, earning him the John C. Cobb Outstanding Freshman Award. His sophomore campaign in 2015-16 was his breakout year. Mason took home All- Ivy League First Team honors, along with a

NABC NABC is an initialism that may refer to any of the following: *North American Bridge Championships, North American contract bridge tournaments * National Association of Basketball Coaches, an American trade association of men's college basketball c ...

District 13 Second Team selection. He was also recognized with the Bill Madden Toughness Award and was the co-recipient of the Dutch Arnold Most Valuable Player Award (alongside his teammate Justin Sears). Mason emerged as Yale's leading scorer (16.0 points per game) and assist man (3.8 per game), while guiding the Bulldogs to their first ever NCAA Tournament victory, hitting on 9-of-18 from the field and netting a career-high 31 points in Yale's 79-75 upset win over heavily favored Baylor. Yale fell short to Duke in the second round. Mason declared for the 2016 NBA draft, but later withdrew his name. On November 8, 2016, it was announced that Mason would miss the entire 2016–17 College Basketball season with a broken right foot. He suffered a stress fracture in his left foot in November 2017. In 2018, Mason transferred to Baylor University to complete his basketball eligibility as a graduate student for the 2018–19 season. Despite dealing with injuries, Mason averaged 14.9 points and 3.4 assists per game in his only season at Baylor.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

, Mason signed his first professional contract with

Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Mercedes ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

. He averaged 3.9 points and 0.8 assists per game. On July 3, 2020, Mason left the German team in order to join

club

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of the Comarca of Bages, located in the geographical centre of Catalonia, Spain, and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are ...

International career

Mason has dual citizenship in the United States and Germany, his mother was born in Mainz, Germany. In 2016, Mason was selected for the German national basketball team, to play in the qualification rounds for the EuroBasket 2017. He played his first official game for Team Germany on July 30 against Ukraine.

References

External links

Yale Bulldogs bioBaylor Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Makai 1995 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players American people of German descent Basketball players from Massachusetts Bàsquet Manresa players Baylor Bears men's basketball players German expatriate basketball people in Spain German men's basketball players Liga ACB players People from Greenfield, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Franklin County, Massachusetts Point guards Shooting guards Yale Bulldogs men's basketball players