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New York Knicks: 25 Best Players To Play For The Knicks

By Phil Watson

Mar 26, 2016; New York, NY, USA; General view as the New York Knicks are introduced before the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2016; New York, NY, USA; General view as the New York Knicks are introduced before the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Basketball: NBA Finals: New York Knicks Anthony Mason (14) in action vs Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden. Game 3. New York, NY 6/12/1994 CREDIT: John Biever (Photo by John Biever /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X46300 )
Basketball: NBA Finals: New York Knicks Anthony Mason (14) in action vs Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden. Game 3. New York, NY 6/12/1994 CREDIT: John Biever (Photo by John Biever /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X46300 ) /

19. player. 27. <strong>How acquired:</strong> Free agent, July 30, 1991.. PF-SF. . Anthony Mason

Little was expected when the New York Knicks signed forward Anthony Mason as a free agent in July 1991.

It was hard to heap a lot of expectations on a guy who in the previous two seasons had played in 24 NBA games, logging 129 minutes and scoring 47 points.

NYK_19_MASON
NYK_19_MASON /

Mason had spent most of the previous season in the Continental Basketball Association and also played in Venezuela before signing with the Knicks. As it turns out, his days on the fringes of pro basketball were done.

He emerged as a valuable bench piece for the next four seasons before earning a starting role in 1995-96, when he led the NBA in minutes and minutes per game while also finishing fourth in field goal percentage.

That came on the heels of Mason being named the Sixth Man of the Year in 1994-95.

Mason bounced back from a two-game suspension late in the 1993-94 season to help the Knicks reach the NBA Finals for the first time in 21 years.

Coming off the bench in the series, Mason put up 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 29.3 minutes in the series, shooting .468/—/.640 in the seven-game loss to the Houston Rockets.

In July 1996, the Knicks traded Mason and Brad Lohaus to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for All-Star Larry Johnson.

In five seasons in New York, Mason averaged 9.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 31.7 minutes per game, shooting .528/0-for-2/.681.

Mason put up big numbers as a senior at Tennessee State, averaging 28.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and he was taken in the third round of the 1988 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Mason spent the 1988-89 season in Turkey and Portland renounced his rights in June 1989. He was signed by the New Jersey Nets in September 1989, appearing in just 21 games and being waived at the end of the preseason in October 1990.

He played in three games with the Denver Nuggets after signing the first of two 10-day contracts in December 1990.

Mason was named All-Defensive and All-NBA in 1996-97 with the Hornets, while also leading the NBA in minutes per game and finishing third in rebounding.

Charlotte dealt Mason to the Miami Heat in August 2000.

He made his lone All-Star Game appearance for Miami in 2001 before signing with the Milwaukee Bucks as a free agent in October 2001.

Mason retired after the Bucks bought out the remainder of his contract in October 2003.

He died from congestive heart failure on Feb. 28, 2015, at just 48 years of age.

Next: Houston Was A Problem For Defenses

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