Greatest unsung hero in every NBA team’s history

Charlotte Hornets: Anthony Mason

Most NBA fans remember Anthony Mason from his time with the New York Knicks. He won NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1994-95 playing for them. That being said, he also put together a solid four-year stretch with on some good Charlotte Hornets teams in the late 1990s.

Upon joining the team in 1996, Mason received the same heavy workload that the Knicks gave him in his final season in New York. He led the league in minutes played, while starting in all 73 of the games he was available for.

Mason was never looked at as the best player on those Hornets teams. That honor often went to Glen Rice. However, he was unquestionably one of the most important members of a Charlotte squad that won 50 games in consecutive seasons in 1996-97 and 1997-98.

Take the 1996-97 season for example. That year, Mason averaged a respectable 16.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists, all of which were career-highs for him. These are solid numbers, but not anything spectacular.

However, the advanced numbers valued him much higher, as he led the team in both win shares and WS/48, while finishing second to frontcourt teammate Vlade Divac in DBPM and defensive win shares.

The 1997-98 campaign followed the same pattern. Mason put up lukewarm stats of 11.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, but the analytics again held him in higher regard. His 9.3 win shares tied Rice for the team lead and he posted the highest Value Over Replacement Player led all Hornets.

In many ways, Mason resembled a modern-day version of Draymond Green, a tenacious defender who could guard multiple positions and make plays for others on the offensive end. His value in general often goes understated, but he played a major role for some of the best Hornets teams in franchise history.