Makai Mason

Makai Mason
Makai Mason in 2014
Free Agent
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
Personal information
Born (1995-05-04) May 4, 1995 (age 29)
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.