Which Hornets players have received MVP votes?
Anthony Mason – 1997
Joining his teammate from the previous slide, Glen Rice, is Anthony Mason. This was Mason’s first season in Charlotte after beginning his career overseas before coming to the NBA. Mason would play a handful of games for the Nets and Nuggets before spending the next four seasons with the New York Knicks before landing in Charlotte.
Mason averaged a double-double with 16.2 points and 11.4 rebounds in a league-high 43.1 minutes per game. The then 30-year-old forward would also average 5.7 rebounds and one steal per game. This was a career-best season for Mason up to this point. Mason would only average more than 16 points and one steal per game in his career one more time (2000-01) and double-digit rebounds once (1997-98) for the remainder of his time in the NBA.
The career year from Mason was no match for eventual MVP Karl Malone. Mason would finish tied for ninth with Shaquille O’Neal with seven points and zero first-place votes.
Mason would only be in the NBA for six more years after his ninth-place finish (playing in five) before retiring after the conclusion of the 2002-03 season. His final three seasons were spent with the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks.