Jun 26, 2020

Mason Named NBA G League MVP

Posted Jun 26, 2020 5:10 PM

Former Kansas national player of the year Frank Mason III was named the NBA G League 2019-20 Most Valuable Player, the league announced Thursday. Mason won the honor in a vote by the league’s 28 head coaches and general managers.

Mason averaged 26.4 points, shooting 42.5 percent from 3-point range, 5.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 23 games played per game for the Wisconsin Herd. The Herd was 18-5 in games Mason played this past season and coached by former KU guard Chase Buford who was a three-year letterwinner at Kansas (2008-10) and a member of the 2008 NCAA National Championship team.

Mason signed a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks in July 2019 and played in six games with the NBA team this past season averaging 8.8 minutes and 2.3 points per contest. He is listed on the Bucks’ roster for the upcoming 2020 playoffs. The Bucks are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference after posting a 53-12 record prior to the global pandemic.

From Petersburg, Va., while at Kansas Mason was the unanimous 2017 National Player of the Year, given the award by 10 different entities: Wooden, Naismith, NABC, Associated Press, USBWA Oscar Robertson, Sporting News, CBS Sports, USA TODAY, Bleacher Report and NBC Sports. He was the first Jayhawk to be named Associated Press Player of the Year, a recipient of the Oscar Robertson Trophy presented by the USBWA, and win the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. Mason concluded his career ranked sixth on the Kansas scoring list (1,885 points), sixth in assists (576), eighth in 3-point field goals (185), 13th in steals (165) and tied for third in consecutive starts (110). Other than Mason, no Jayhawk in KU history ranked sixth or higher in both points and assists.