Mason Plumlee’s season began with the Hornets. Now he’s suiting up in NBA Finals
Upon returning to the Carolinas last fall, coming back to the region’s NBA franchise for a second stint, Mason Plumlee only had one thing in mind.
With the Charlotte Hornets’ roster featuring its share of youthful talent, including the additions of two fellow Duke products in Kon Knueppel and Sion James, Plumlee wanted to be a much-needed veteran presence.
The homecoming didn’t last past early February, though.
Plumlee is now wearing San Antonio Spurs colors and in the NBA Finals, which tips off at Frost Bank Center on Wednesday night when San Antonio hosts the New York Knicks. The 36-year-old is thrilled to be fully immersed into a scenario only select few get to experience.
“It’s awesome to be a part of it,” Plumlee told The Charlotte Observer in a phone interview Tuesday. “It’s interesting. The furthest I’ve been before is the Western Conference Finals and that was at the bubble (during COVID). So it’s my first time really appreciating how deep into the summer you could go if you keep playing.
“And there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing than coming in each day — whether that’s practice, game, whatever it is that we are doing as a team. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Traded to Oklahoma City on Feb. 4 for Ousmane Dieng and a 2029 second-round pick that will ultimately convey as the more favorable of Atlanta and Miami’s second-round selections, Plumlee initially signed a 10-day contract with the Spurs on Feb. 17 after being bought out by the Thunder. He inked a deal with San Antonio for the rest of the 2025-26 season on Feb. 27.
Plumlee was added to provide insurance and depth at center behind 7-foot-4 phenom Victor Wembanyama and backup Luke Kornet. He’s spent the past two months serving as a veteran presence alongside another former Hornet in Bismack Biyombo, and mentoring the team’s young talent.
It’s the same blueprint Plumlee had during his second short tenure in Charlotte.
Plumlee inked a one-year deal with Charlotte in July as a free agent, choosing the Hornets after stints with the LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns. Unlike his initial stint with the franchise, which began with a trade from Detroit, this time he picked his destination.
The opportunity to rejoin LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and a Hornets’ rising core that included Knueppel and James intrigued Plumlee. And when training camp opened in Charlotte, Plumlee found himself part of a center rotation that included Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner.
“When they called and suggested the role,” Plumlee said, “my main attraction was Melo — I have a great relationship with him — and Miles, those were really the two guys from when I was there that I was excited to come back and be around. And then the younger guys, it was a really fun locker room.
“Getting to know that rookie class — Sion, Ryan, Liam (McNeeley), Kon — those were guys that were fun to come in and be teammates with each day. So, I enjoyed that for sure.”
Plumlee’s ability to translate experience into instant impact — to walk into a locker room and immediately speak the game’s language — is precisely what made him an attractive piece for the Hornets, who were seeking to move past mediocrity. It’s also exactly what has made Plumlee valuable to a Spurs team boasting one of the world’s most insatiable talents in Wembanyama.
Plumlee’s focus has shifted since February and now just months removed from serving as a trusted voice for Hornets coach Charles Lee, he’s doing what he can to assist San Antonio in hopes of capturing his first NBA championship.
“It’s very different,” Plumlee said. “You come to the Spurs and I think by the time I joined them they were probably the hottest, if not one of the hottest, teams in the NBA and really finding their stride. Victor is obviously who he is and to come in at a time where everything was kind of coming together was exciting to join that.
“I just feel blessed to be a part of it.”
Including the front-row seat he has watching Wembanyama. The 22-year-old Frenchman garnered All-NBA first-team honors and was unanimously named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He’s the youngest player to capture the award and the first unanimous winner since its inception in 1982-83.
“He has a really professional approach for how old he is,” Plumlee said, “the way he prepares mentally, physically, how communicates as a teammate and as a leader. It’s very mature for a third-year player, for a guy his age and it’s a lot of the reason we are where we are. Because it hasn’t been an easy playoffs and he’s shown up in the biggest moments.”
That will have to continue if the Spurs want to beat New York.
Steamrolling to their first appearance in the Finals since 1999, the Knicks became the 10th team in NBA history — and first since the 2023-24 Boston Celtics — to win 10 consecutive playoff games in a single postseason. New York has won five consecutive road games by at least 10 points, which ties for longest such streak in NBA playoff history.
New York’s margin of plus-225 during that stretch also represents the best by any team over a 10-game span — regular season or postseason — in NBA history.
“The thing that we feel like is key in the whole series is rebounding,” Plumlee said. “I think in the three matchups previously the Knicks won on the boards, they won the opportunity battle so to speak. So if we can rebound the ball well we like our chances.”
San Antonio is more than 1,300 miles away from Charlotte, yet there’s probably always going to be a soft spot for Plumlee when it comes to the Queen City and North Carolina in general.
Save for his native state of Indiana, he’s surely traversed the roads and racked up in the air miles roaming in Tar Heel state than anywhere else. Plumlee starred at Christ School in Arden, winning three state championships en route to being named Mr. Basketball in 2009, and suited up for coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke for four years.
Throw in Plumlee’s first stay with the Hornets from 2021-23 and he’s had Carolina on his mind for years.
“High school was special to me, I loved going to college there and then my time with the Hornets,” Plumlee said. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s crazy when I look at where I’ve lived in my life I think I’ve been in North Carolina as long as anywhere. It’s a special place to me. I love all parts of the state and it’s a good place.
“It’s a basketball place.”
One that still leads to current connections.
“Funny enough, my senior year I got to know Dave Telep, who used to run the Carolina Challenge,” Plumlee said. “I felt like he really brought Carolina grassroots basketball to the forefront of the summer circuit. He really highlighted how many good players were coming out of there when I was down there.
“And he’s in the front office here with the Spurs now, so it was kind of funny when I got put in touch with the Spurs. Just to take it all the way back to high school, he saw me when I was a sophomore, junior playing at Christ School.”
Nearly two decades later, the duo is on the verge of cementing their names in NBA mortality. Four more victories and they can hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
“Everybody wants that validation, there’s no question about it,” Plumlee said. “I’ve also just enjoyed the journey so much. We’re going for it, make no mistake about it. But I’m going to enjoy the series itself just as much as the ending.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Mason Plumlee’s season began with the Hornets. Now he’s suiting up in NBA Finals."
