With a dagger three-pointer, Roger Mason Jr. said goodbye to Phoenix's dream of a Christmas miracle and hello to the NBA world.
Certainly, with all the offseason NBA moves that take place year in and year out, it is easy to overlook Mason's move to the San Antonio Spurs, but the former Virginia Cavalier standout is making himself hard to ignore.
Roger Mason's journey in the NBA has been far from an easy path. He left Virginia after a successful junior campaign that ended in a last-minute loss to Gonzaga in the 2001 NCAA tournament.
Mason probably should have stayed that extra year to work on his game but the allure of the NBA was calling. His agent was convinced he would be a late first-round pick in the upcoming draft and so Mason took the plunge.
Ironically, so did Virginia, without a proven point guard the Cavaliers went into a tailspin that coach Pete Gillen was really never able to recover from.
As for Mason, he fell to the murky waters of the second round of the draft, selected by the Chicago Bulls.
Don't say he did it for the money. Mason Jr. has mentioned more than once in interviews that if he were not a basketball player, he would probably be a surgeon like his father was, before his untimely death from kidney disease when his son was only 11 years old.
Hmmm...doctor or NBA baller is not usually the career day dilemma most young men face after college.
Well it turned out to be prophetic, because Mason was going to spend the next few years of his life in waiting rooms as opposed to hardwood courts.
Being a rookie in the NBA is hard enough, but adding to the insult of being demoted to the second round, Mason suffered a shoulder injury which cost him the first 55 games of the season.
When he did recover, Mason had a front row seat at the bench he rarely left. Mason averaged just over six minutes a game and less than two points per contest.
For the next two years, Mason was in Toronto, once again dealing with limited playing time and limited health. Three times Mason missed significant amounts of time with injuries and it finally forced the Raptors to cut ties with him.
Mason, dejected and rejected, went the only place he could: Greece.
As a member of Olympiakos, Mason began to get healthier, which allowed him the confidence and the training to finally get his game to the next level.
Mason had always been a pure shooter, still holding the school record for highest career free-throw percentage, but now he was drilling three-pointers with precision and learning the skills of point guard, a job he had only inherited his final year in college.
After a couple of years overseas, Roger Mason Jr. got the opportunity he had wanted, a chance to come home.
In 2006, Mason was signed by the Washington Wizards, miles from home with his family and friends. Still, success was not exactly within reach.
2 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Craig Salomonson 6 months ago
A-Men. Awesome article, Ben. I have been watching Roger Mason every game this season, and I saw this coming. He can flat SHOOT. Look for more heroics in the future from him.
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Ben Gibson 6 months ago
Thanks Craig, I agree completely. With such great players around him Mason is going to keep getting space on those shots and he will make them pay. I think San Antonio made some very good off-season moves this summer and at full strength will be a formidable challenge for the Lakers.
Plus he's on my fantasy team so I say keep it coming haha.l
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