Mason Plumlee

At 34 years old, Mason Plumlee has this physical status:

Mason Alexander Plumlee (born March 5, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He was a back-up forward for the Duke Blue Devils' national championship team as a freshman in 2009–10, competing with his older brother Miles.

In high school, he was a McDonald's All-American.

He also played with his younger brother Marshall during his junior year at Duke.

In the 2013 NBA draft, he was selected as the 22nd overall pick by the Brooklyn Nets.

Plumlee was also a member of the United States national team that competed in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Personal life

Plumlee grew up with brothers Miles, who played for Duke and now plays for the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League, Marshall, who also played for Duke and is a professional basketball player, and sister Madeleine who played volleyball for the University of Notre Dame. He and Miles became the sixth pair of brothers to play at Duke at the same time. All three Plumlee brothers have won NCAA championships while playing for Duke, with Marshall winning the NCAA championship in 2015.

Perky, a former Tennessee Tech basketball player, and Leslie (née Schultz), a former Purdue basketball player, are among Plumlee's parents. During the summer of 1979, the two friends attended a basketball camp. Albert "Bud" Schultz's grandfather played basketball at Michigan Tech (1944), and his uncle William Schultz (1971–72), and his uncle Chad Schultz played basketball at Wisconsin-Oshkosh (1983–86).

Plumlee is a Christian. “I think, actually, that's the point of my tale,” Plumlee said, is that you should walk by faith, not by sight. You can't tell the supernatural and what God has planned."

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High school career

Plumlee attended Warsaw Community High School in Warsaw, Indiana, first, before moving to Christ School in Arden, North Carolina, after his freshman year. Mason was a leader at Christ School and helped the team win three state championships and a record of 99–8 over the last three years. At the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in 2008, he received a silver medal. Plumlee was named a 2009 McDonald's All-American senior, with 15.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.5 blocks per game, including a Jordan Brand All-American and a third-team Parade All-American. The Charlotte Observer named him as Mr. Basketball in 2009 and twice as an All-State pick. In addition, he competed in the high jump in track and field, with a personal record of 6 feet 8 inches.

College career

Miles had intended to play at Stanford but decided to follow him to Duke after Stanford coach Trent Johnson left for LSU.

With a broken left wrist, he missed the first six games of the 2009–10 season. He and Miles were often the first two players off the bench, often rotating into games together, replacing Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas. "He's an athlete," teammate Nolan Smith said. He can run and jump with the best of them in the country."

Mason was ranked first in blocks by April 4, 2010, and second on the team with 21 dunks. He had an average of 14.1 minutes of play per game during the 2009–2010 season, averaging of 3.1 rebounds and.9 blocks.

"Mason has a chance to be really, really good," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. He has the confidence of a guard and the body of a big man, as well as a keen basketball mind. He's a natural athlete, he likes the stage, and he's really good with the ball.

Both the two brothers were expected to be in Duke's starting lineup in 2010–11. Mason was viewed as Duke's top pro prospect by Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt. Plumlee said in early April 2010 that some scouting firms regarded him as the team's best pro prospect. I don't even know what to say to those people. Let's be honest. I'm trying to be the best I can, but no one advances from the bench to the NBA. "Come on."

Mason appeared in 13 games of the 2010–2011 season, three of whom saw double doubles in points and rebounds. He averaged 7.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game to help the defending champion Blue Devils keep the paint on the game.

He was a member of the 2012-2013 Academic All-American team. He was also a finalist for the 2012–13 Senior CLASS Awards.

Professional career

In the 2013 NBA draft, Plumlee was picked with the 22nd overall pick by the Brooklyn Nets. He signed his first-scale deal with the Nets on July 3, 2013. In a 98-98 overtime victory, he scored 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in his first game against his brother Miles and the Phoenix Suns. Plumlee played 26 minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, with both Brook Lopez and Kevin Garnett out injured, with both Brook Lopez and Kevin Garnett out injured, and the Los Angeles Clippers had 19 points and six rebounds, both career highs. Plumlee was selected to participate in Chris Webber's squad in the 2014 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, while his brother Miles was selected to play on Grant Hill's squad. Plumlee was on his second NBA double-double on February 9, 2014, scoring with 22 points and 13 rebounds in a Nets victory. Both Miles and Mason Plumlee got off the Suns and the Nets on March 17, 2014. In a 108-95 Nets win, Mason had 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Miles had 3 points and 6 rebounds.

The Nets defeated the LeBron James in a four-game season series on April 8, 2014, as the first team to sweep LeBron James. Plumlee was the only healthy center on the Nets roster, with Kevin Garnett recovering his back and Andray Blatche out with injury. When James attempted a dunk that would have won the game for the Heat, the Nets had a 88–87 lead in the closing seconds. In what the New York Times characterized as a "defining moment" in his career, Plumlee blocked the shot and triggered the season sweep. Despite being obnoxious about the game and shouting that he had been fouled, the NBA later announced that the call was correct and that the block was clean. He earned NBA All-Rookie first team honors in 70 games (22 starts), becoming the first Net since Brook Lopez (2008–09) to receive such accolades.

Plumlee was the primary back-up to Brook Lopez following Andray Blatche's departure in the season. The Nets trialled their third-year team option on Plumlee's rookie scale hire on October 24, 2014, extending the deal through the 2015-16 season.

Plumlee, who was suspended in the first two games of the season, moved to a bench position in the aftermath of Lopez's return to the starting center, which was in the case of Plumlee's return to the starting lineup. He then scored a season-high 18 points and added ten rebounds on December 12 in the Nets' 88-70 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. In a 102-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets, he reached his season high of 19 points on December 23, while still grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds. In a 113-99 loss to the Houston Rockets, he surpassed his season high by scoring a career-high 24 points.

Plumlee and Pat Connaughton's draft rights were sold by the Portland Trail Blazers to Steve Blake in exchange for Steve Blake and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson's draft rights. The Trail Blazers exercised their fourth-year team option on Plumlee's rookie-scale deal, extending the deal into the 2016–17 season. In a 105–101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on December 14, he scored 15 points, 13 rebounds, and a then career-high six assists. In a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on January 6, he scored a season-high 19 points. In a 108-98 victory over the Washington Wizards, he had his 12th double-double of the season with ten points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high seven assists. Plumlee recorded 13 points and 12 rebounds for his career-best 13th double-double of the season on January 29, during his win over the Charlotte Hornets. In a 132-120 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks on March 20, he had 14 points and then a career-high 19 rebounds.

Plumlee's career highs of 21 rebounds and nine assists in a 96-88 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 3 of the Trail Blazers' 2016 first-round playoff series, which culminated in a 96-88 victory. In a playoff game since LeBron James in 2010, he was the first player to score 19 or more rebounds and eight or more assists. He also became the first Blazer center to score eight more in a post-season game since Arvydas Sabonis in 1999. Plumlee defeated 98–84, tying the series at 2–2. During Game 4 of the series, she had 14 rebounds, ten assists, three blocks, and two points.

Plumlee became the first Portland player to score 150 points and 100 assists (23 games) on December 7, 2016, the first Portland player to do so since Scottie Pippen in 1999–2000 (22 games). Plumlee lost 125-124 to the Detroit Pistons on January 8, 2017, with career-high 12 assists, 10 rebounds, three blocks, and one steal within 40 minutes. His 10 rebounds and 12 assists made him the first Blazers forward or center to earn a double-double in those categories since Mychal Thompson in January 1984.

Plumlee was traded with a 2018 second round draft pick and cash considerations to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Jusuf Nurki and a 2017 safe first round pick.

Plumlee re-signed with the Nuggets on September 20, 2017.

Plumlee decided to change his jersey number from 24 to 7 in January 2020 after Kobe Bryant's death in January 2020, to honor Bryant, who wore the number 24 during his first ten seasons.

Plumlee joined the Detroit Pistons on December 1, 2020. Plumlee earned his first triple-double in 2021, defeating the New Orleans Pelicans by 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Plumlee, a 30-year-old player, became the first player to record his first triple-double since Patrick Ewing at age 33 in 1996.

Plumlee and JT Thor's draft rights were sold by the Charlotte Hornets to Bala Koprivica on August 6, 2021.

National team career

Plumlee was a member of the United States national team that earned the gold medal in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. In 2008, he also won silver with the Under-18 team at the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.

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