Makai Mason
Makai Mason in 2014
Free Agent
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
Personal information
Born (1995-05-04) May 4, 1995
Greenfield, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican / German
Listed height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Listed weight84 kg (185 lb)
Career information
High schoolHotchkiss School
(Lakeville, Connecticut)
College
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2020Alba Berlin
2020–2021Manresa
Career highlights and awards

Makai Mason (born May 4, 1995) is an American-German professional basketball player who last played for Baxi Manresa of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball for the Yale Bulldogs and Baylor Bears.[1]

Early life

Mason in 2009

A Greenfield, Massachusetts, native, Mason attended The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. He garnered NEPSAC Class A Player of the Year honors as a senior and enrolled at Yale University in 2014.[2]

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,[3] along with a NABC District 13 Second Team selection.[4] 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).[5] Mason emerged as Yale's leading scorer (16.0 points per game) and assist man (3.8 per game),[6] 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.[7] Yale fell short to Duke in the second round.[8] Mason declared for the 2016 NBA draft, but later withdrew his name.[9]

On November 8, 2016, it was announced that Mason would miss the entire 2016–17 College Basketball season with a broken right foot.[10] He suffered a stress fracture in his left foot in November 2017.[11]

In 2018, Mason transferred to Baylor University to complete his basketball eligibility as a graduate student for the 2018–19 season.[12] Despite dealing with injuries, Mason averaged 14.9 points and 3.4 assists per game in his only season at Baylor.[13]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Mason signed his first professional contract with Alba Berlin of the Basketball Bundesliga.[14] He averaged 3.9 points and 0.8 assists per game. On July 3, 2020, Mason left the German team in order to join Liga ACB club Manresa.[15]

International career

Mason has dual citizenship in the United States and Germany, his mother was born in Mainz, Germany.[16] In 2016, Mason was selected for the German national basketball team, to play in the qualification rounds for the EuroBasket 2017.[17][18] He played his first official game for Team Germany on July 30 against Ukraine.[19]

References

  1. RealGM.com profile
  2. "Meet The Class of 2018 – Makai Mason - Yale Bulldogs". www.yalebulldogs.com. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  3. "Men's Basketball All-Ivy, Postseason Awards Announced - Ivy League". www.ivyleaguesports.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  4. "National Association of Basketball Coaches Announces 2015-16 Division I All-District Teams and Coaches" (PDF). National Association of Basketball Coaches. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  5. "Celebration Of Championship Season - Yale Bulldogs". www.yalebulldogs.com. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  6. "Yale - Yale Bulldogs". yalebulldogs.com. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  7. "Cinderella Strikes, Bulldogs Shock Baylor 79-75 In NCAA Tournament - Yale Bulldogs". yalebulldogs.com. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  8. "Yale's Comeback Falls Short in NCAA Men's Basketball Second-Round Thriller in Providence - Ivy League". www.ivyleaguesports.com. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  9. Yesselman, Tessa (2016-06-01). "With Mason back, Yale poised for another Ivy run". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  10. "Yale leading scorer Makai Mason out for season with broken foot". espn.com. 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  11. Conner, Desmond. "Injury Bug Stings Yale's Makai Mason Again; Big Man Jordan Bruner Out For Season". courant.com. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  12. Werner, John (May 11, 2017). "Yale guard Makai Mason transferring to Baylor". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  13. "Baylor's Makai Mason signs with German team". Waco Tribune-Herald. July 8, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  14. Borghesan, Ennio Terrasi (July 8, 2019). "Makai Mason signs with ALBA Berlin". Sportando. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  15. "Rokas Giedraitis, Makai Mason leave ALBA Berlin". Sportando. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  16. TheDBBTV (2016-08-03), DBB-TV 2016 Interview Makai Mason, retrieved 2016-08-03
  17. "Makai Mason stößt zum Nationalteam". Archived from the original on 2016-07-16. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  18. "Lo, Mason get chance to shine with Germany as Schroder pulls out". FIBA.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  19. "DBB-Herren unterliegen der Ukraine « Deutscher Basketball Bund". www.basketball-bund.de. Archived from the original on 2016-07-31. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
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