Desmond Mason And Terrence Ross Were The SAME PLAYER...

What if I told you that Terrence Ross was practically Desmond Mason reincarnated? The two high flyers have a highlight reel just as spectacular as any other superstar. Both guys won the slam dunk contest as rookies, Mason in 2001 and Ross in 2013. Yes, nice. Nice height, nice force when he threw it down. That's a 10. No, that's not a 10. Listen, listen, listen. There's no rapid point guard. Oh! It's over. Kenny, do the honors. Let's go, Kenny, make it exciting. This was a good dunk. No, Kenny. That was a 50. Put some energy. With a tribute to Vince Carter. Oh, good. Yo, that's 50. That's two 50s back-to-back. Give it to me. That's two 50s back-to-back. Back-to-back 50s. I think they have to have a dunk-off. It's going to have to be a dunk-off. Terrence Ross of the Toronto Rappers, slam dunk champion. And both guys came back to defend their title in the following years, but eventually lost it. Desmond to Jason Richardson in 2002 and 2003. That is freaky right there. That is freaky. That is a top 10 dunk of all time. He's got the flu right now. He's sick. This kid has to jump off two feet also. Oh, my goodness. That's everything. That's all. That's Desmond Mason. That's Vince Carter. That's Dominique. All rolled into one dunk. While Terrence came short to John Woole in 2014. Oh, there it is. There it is. See, you have to be more excited than the fans to get them excited. See, watch this post-dunk. After he dunks it, he's just calm, collected. You can't be calm, collected. I know you're the champ. I told you. John Woole is going to get it. Dance it out, baby. Dance it out. Rock it out. That was nice. That wasn't. That was a little more than nice, Chuck. That was a little more than nice. Oh, my goodness. The slam dunker of the year. Back in 2000, in what's considered as one of the worst draft classes ever, Desmond Mason was selected with the 17th pick in the first round by the Seattle Supersonics. And if we take a look at the guys picked before him, it's safe to say that Mason surpassed his expectations. And a miss right there by Duncan in this fourth quarter, San Antonio with a great jam by Desmond Mason. It's Sonics by 15. Two minutes left. Here's the lob. Way up top. Oh, gonna get it. Cowboy. Yeah. Stolen by Mason. Desmond Mason from Oklahoma State, a rookie first round draft pick. In two and a half seasons with the Sonics, Mason came mostly off the bench, averaging 11 points and five rebounds on 45% from the field. In 2002, he finished fifth in the race for the Sixth Man of the Year award. And you know how we exclusively see threes or mid-range fadeaways in the clutch. Well, Desmond wanted to sort things out at the rim in crunch time. To Lewis, to Mason, goes for the slam dunk pie game. What a play. He jumps in the air and it turns and watches the ball. Seattle can tie with a two, inbound to Brodniak with four. Peyton has it with three. In 2003, he was sent to Milwaukee alongside Gary Peyton in the trade for Ray Allen. And he continued flying high in the Bucs uniform as well. In his first season in Milwaukee, the Bucs made the playoffs and faced the later finalists, New Jersey Knit, in the first round. And surprisingly, they took J-Kid and company to six games, rocking this funky-looking line-up of Peyton and Sam Cassell as the old guard combo. Tim Thomas and Desmond Mason at the wings, and Irvin Johnson at center. Not Magic, just Irvin. And not to forget the lefty snipers, Tony Kukoc and Michael Rhett off the bench. The following season, Rhett emerged as the new face of the franchise, while Peyton and Cassell left the team for LA and Minnesota, respectively. So, the Bucs barely made the playoffs, booking a date with the later champions, the Detroit Pistons. And once again, they stole one game from the heavy favorites, with Mason as their second scoring option. The following season, the Bucs were near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but for Desmond, it was his best individual campaign. In 36 minutes of high-flying action, Mason averaged a career-best 17 points for rebounds and three assists, solidifying his place as one of the top in-game dunkers in the entire league. But before the start of the next season, he got traded once again, this time to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Jamal McGlure. And what happened there? More dunking, of course. In two seasons alongside young Chris Paul, Mason posted 12 points and four rebounds without any significant team success. Desmond jumped around the league for two more years, while experiencing a sharp decline in OKC in Sacramento, where he finished his career at age 32. But just two years later, another similar talent entered the league. Ross played in the Lowry and DeRozan era in Toronto, immediately leaving an imprint with his flashiness. In his sophomore season, he exploded for 51 points against the L.A. Clippers. Albeit in a loss, Terrence Ross tied the franchise record with 51 points. Imagine how Deebo must have felt, seeing the second-year guard getting into the record books before him. Five days later, T. Ross dropped one of the best dunks of the season. During his four and a half years in Toronto, Ross posted almost 10 points and 3 boards per game, with most of them being spectacular dunks like these. And in 2016, he was a part of their deepest playoff run thus far, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time, where they lost to LeBron and the Cavs in six games. T. Ross saw a diminished role in the postseason, as his playing time fell from 25 to 16 minutes per contest. So, he got traded to the Orlando Magic for Serge Ibaka in 2017. In Orlando, he stayed for seven years while mostly coming off the bench for a team that made the playoffs twice, with both times being first-round exits. But that didn't stop Ross from producing spectacular highlights. Great! T. Ross just launching. What a big shot for the Magic. In the starting lineup for Team Giannis, and Nikola Vucevic will come off the bench. Terence Ross! Terence having a nice day. That's what this is. Our flight of the game. Wow! Slam dunk champion in All-Star Weekend 2013. Terence's best season was 2019, when he averaged 15 points and 3.5 rebounds on 43% shooting from the field and 38% from downtown, getting consideration for the Sixth Man of the Year award. He finished fifth in the race, just like his predecessor. Heck, it was just four years ago when Ross still had crazy hops. Backdoor cut by Ross. Spinning whirl and dunking. Terence Ross, the torch, lights it up in the fourth quarter. Wow! Backdoor play, Terence Ross, the setup, 360, knocking it down. He called it quits in 2023 at the age of 31, with the reasons being the physical wear and tear from injuries, plus a strong wish to spend more time with his family. So, to wrap things up, Mason stayed 10 seasons in the league while averaging 12 points, while Ross played 11 years putting up 11 points per game. The only difference is that Ross had a much more reliable outside weapon, shooting a 36% from three-point range for his career, while Mason made only 66 threes on a measly 26% shooting for the entire 10 years. Regardless, next in line of this archetype are guys like Shaden Sharp and Cam Whitmore. Although Sharp has a much higher ceiling and could easily evolve into an all-star, while Whitmore needs to stay healthy and prove himself again this season. Speaking of electric guards that got famous for their dunking, the ultimate guy has to be Vince Carter. And you probably forgot about how crazy Vincentity was in his rookie season. I made a throwback video of his best rookie moments and you have to check it out right here. Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.