Desmond Mason, a former NBA player for the SuperSonics-Thunder franchise, has been arrested in Oklahoma City on allegations of theft, according to online records.
As reported by KFOR and News9.com, Mason was the subject of a February arrest warrant from authorities in Melissa, Texas. Mason is accused of failing to return an NBA jersey and authentication documents reportedly worth more than $40,000 to Ryan and Cheryl Clemmons, who allegedly commissioned him to frame the uniform.
Mason, 48, remains in an Oklahoma jail following his arrest on Thursday. The public safety website said he is being held on ‘flight to avoid,’ indicating he is perceived as a flight risk.
The Melissa Police Department claims Ryan and Cheryl Clemmons paid Mason nearly $10,000 to frame the piece of sports memorabilia. Authorities say Mason shared pictures of the completed framing job in April of 2025 and promised to deliver the piece, but then ceased communication for several months.
The couple said they began getting excuses from Mason in January before an arrest warrant was issued for him the following month.
Desmond Mason, a former NBA player for the SuperSonics-Thunder franchise, has been arrested in Oklahoma City on allegations of theft, according to online records
An Oklahoma State graduate who went on to become a first-round pick by Seattle in 2000, Mason would go on to win the 2001 NBA Slam Dunk contest
Mason returned to the Sonics-Thunder franchise in 2008 after it moved to Oklahoma City
Investigators arrested Mason in the Bricktown area of Oklahoma City and took him to the Oklahoma County Detention Center (OCDC). However, he was not immediately booked due to a medical issue and was instead brought to a local hospital.
An Oklahoma State graduate who went on to become a first-round pick by Seattle in 2000, Mason beat Baron Davis and DeShawn Stevenson to win the 2001 NBA Slam Dunk contest as a rookie.
He later played for the Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Hornets, Sacramento Kings and the former SuperSonics after their move to Oklahoma City, where they became the Thunder.
A college artist, Mason has experience in oil painting and ceramics. He’s even held art shows in the Oklahoma City area, where he’s been described as an abstract expressionist.
‘I paint by emotion so everything I create is a piece of me to some extent,’ he told the Edmund Sun in 2013.
Mason does not currently have an attorney listed on the county jail website.
