Mason attended Tennessee State University and was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in the third round of the 1988 NBA draft, but was cut shortly afterwards. He then played for the Efes Pilsenbasketball club in Turkey and Marinos de Oriente in Venezuela and had brief NBA stints with the New Jersey Nets and the Denver Nuggets. In the 1990–1991 season, Mason played 26 games for the CBA's Tulsa Fast Breakers, with whom he averaged 29.9 points and 14.8 rebounds per game in his only season in the league. Also in 1991, Mason played as a power forward for the Long Island Surf of the USBL. In his one season with the Surf, Mason was named to the All-USBL First Team, averaging more 27.8 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, and he set a league record with 28 rebounds in a game. Ed Krinsky, general manager of the Surf, said, "I really believed he could play in the N.B.A. He was a huge guy with backcourt skills". Later that year, Mason was already on the New York Knicks' summer league roster, with Pat Riley as coach. In the year 2000, in celebration of the USBL's 15th anniversary, USBL fans voted on the "All-15 Team," a collection of the best USBL players from 1985 to 2000, many of whom went on to become renowned NBA stars, with Mason included among the 15.
NBA success
New York Knicks
Mason signed with the New York Knicks in the summer of 1991. Under coach Pat Riley, Mason blossomed in New York, where he became part of a strong frontcourt alongside Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and Charles Smith. Mason played for the Knicks until 1996. In 1994, the Knicks reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 1973, but lost in seven games to the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Houston Rockets. Mason won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1995. He led the league in minutes played in 1995–96 with 3,457, setting a Knicks team record. In 1996, Mason and Brad Lohaus were traded to the Charlotte Hornets for Larry Johnson.
Charlotte Hornets
In the 1996-1997 season, Mason recorded career highs in minutes played, points, rebounds and assists. He led the league in minutes. Following the season, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Mason missed the entire 1998–99 season due to a ruptured bicep, then averaged 11.6 points and 8.5 rebounds in the 1999–2000 season.
Miami Heat
In 2000, Mason was traded to the Miami Heat along with Eddie Jones, Ricky Davis and Dale Ellis for Jamal Mashburn, P. J. Brown, Tim James, Rodney Buford and Otis Thorpe In Miami, although Mason had been brought over by Miami coach Pat Riley to be a role player on what was thought to have been a contender Heat team, the kidney ailment of Alonzo Mourning forced Mourning to sit out and made Mason a starter for the team. Mason would respond by finishing second on the team in scoring, with 16.1 points per game, and averaging 9.6 rebounds. With Mourning and Grant Hill selected but unable to play due to injury in the 2001 NBA All-Star Game, Mason was chosen to represent the Heat in his only selection to an All-Star team. Mason helped the Heat make the playoffs with a 50 win season for the injury-ravaged squad. Mason, however, virtually disappeared in the playoffs, taking only 13 shots and averaging a mere 5.3 points and 3 rebounds in three games. Mason was waived during the offseason.
Milwaukee Bucks
Mason signed with the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2001–02 season. In Mason's first season with the Bucks, the team stumbled to a 41–41 record and missed the playoffs altogether. Mason's numbers went down as well: 9.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg. Nonetheless, Milwaukee stuck with Mason for another year, waiving him after the 2002–03 season. Mason retired from the NBA in 2003.
TV/film/music appearances
In the TV series New York Undercover, Mason appeared in two different episodes, playing himself in one. He also plays a pickup player in the 1996 film Eddie, and himself in Woody Allen's Celebrity. In addition, Mason appears in the Diamond D rap video "Best Kept Secret", dunking his way through the video on a New York City playground basketball court. The Beastie Boys song "B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak" from 1994's "Ill Communication" LP mentions him with the lyric "I got my hair cut correct like Anthony Mason"—the Beasties being NY Knicks fans. The Notorious B.I.G. song "Story to Tell" tells of the rapper sleeping with the girlfriend of a New York Knick in the player's home. This player was revealed, decades later, to be Mason.
