Queens, NY — With a 23-31 start which led to the firing of head coach Derek Fisher, Knick fans haven’t really had much to celebrate or be proud about lately. Well I have some good news, it won’t save the season or get Phil Jackson to come down from his office and coach, as many fans have been calling for, but it is good news for Knicks fans all the same.
What’s that you ask, well a South Jamaica, Queens street will be named in honor of late Knicks great Anthony Mason, who died nearly a year ago after suffering a massive heart attack. It will be a section of 147th St. between 123rd Ave. and Rockaway Blvd., that will be co-named “Anthony Mason Way.” The City Council approved a proposal to rename 42 streets throughout the city, last week and Anthony Mason Way was one of them.
Anthony George Douglas Mason, who was 48 when he died, grew up in South Jamaica. Springfield Gardens, Mason’s high school, named its court for the late Knick last May.
DNAinfo.com was first to report the tribute to Mason, a South Jamaica native who played for the Knicks from 1991 through 1996, helping them to within one win of a championship in a seven-game NBA Finals loss to the Houston Rockets in 1994.
Mason, who earned Sixth Man of the Year honors with New York in 1995, also played for the Charlotte Hornets, Denver Nuggers, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks during a 13-year NBA career.
The 6ft 7in bruiser made his lone All-Star appearance in 2001 after reuniting with his former Knicks coach Pat Riley in Miami.
The Knicks great would have been 49 on February 28th.
