Roger Mason Jr. the talented sharpshooter of the San Antonio Spurs seems to be coming off a pretty good offseason. Even though this past NBA season the Spurs were dealt an early first round exit to the Dallas Mavericks, the team feels now the right moves were made to reach the NBA Finals. Roger Mason Jr. in a recent phoner we conducted let it be known the changes the team made as whole and how on the individual tip he is getting his body right for this year. Playing with future hall of famer Tim Duncan, the quick Manu Ginobli, and star guard Tony Parker, Mason is just adding to a a great lineup with his deadly three point shooting kills to make the Spurs contenders again “The offseason was great man, I got a lot of things done too. I worked hard, lost 15 pounds, I just got myself ready for this upcoming year. My whole thing was getting in better shape to be quicker and faster. Last season was a good season for me and this offseason I wanted to make sure I made myself even better.

Getting into the history of Roger Mason Jr, he is a Washington D.C. native who played college basketball at The University of Virginia. Roger Mason Jr. was selected in the 2002 NBA Draft with the 31st overall pick by the Chicago Bulls. After a brief stint with Chi-town from 2002-2004, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors, which ended shortly while ending up signing a one year contract with the Washington Wizards. Showcasing his skills as a deadly three-point threat the San Antonio Spurs in 2008 a fresh two year contract. Finally playing for a competitor with a chance to gain a championship ring Roger breaks down the experience. “It was good, when I signed with the Spurs last year I knew I was coming to a championship-caliber team. We had some injuries last year and I was able to get some good minutes and hit some game winning shots to help the team. This definitely was a good year for me.” Roger knows coming to San Antonio was a good opportunity for him and he even got more in-depth on playing under Coach Popovich, Tim Duncan, and the rest. “It was a humbling experience for me, I watched David Robinson growing up and he was a great player. To be here with Tony Parker, Ginobli, Tim Duncan, to be with these guys is a lot of fun and hopefully we can continue to have some success.

The San Antonio Spurs have won four NBA titles within the past decade. It seems strange too that each title won was on odd years as well (99′, 03′, 05′, 07). Now when you look at those championship years, which were not long ago, many would still throw out the line that the “Spurs are Aging”. Tim Duncan is over 30, along with Manu Ginobli, and veteran Bruce Bowen recently retired. Many felt the Spurs needed to get younger and maybe this explains why San Antonio acquired the versatile small forward Richard Jefferson from the Milwaukee Bucks. Roger speaks calmly on the teams recent move to improve the offense “I think they wanted some more firepower and Richard Jefferson last year average almost 20 points per game. With him coming in he helps out with our scoring, its just all a part of trying to win a championship. Its the move that they(Spurs) felt that we needed to make.”

The Spurs know what it takes to win, especially playing in the Western Conference which is the most competitive in the NBA. The Lakers have just won the title, young teams like New Orleans, Portland, & Utah are improving as well. The Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix will remain tough competition too. So was Richard Jefferson really best move San Antonio could make to remain one of the best in the west? “We made a good move getting Richard Jefferson, and the fact we were able to go out and get Antonio McDyess. We also brought in Theo Ratliff, so yes these moves gives us good game on the frontcourt. A lot of moves were made this summer to get better. We have a healthy Manu Ginobli, myself, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan so the pieces are in place. As long as were able to stay healthy I think we’ll be okay”. Even after last years first round exit to Dallas Roger Mason knows its only one champion. “Our season ended early, but at the end of the day its only one champion. There is no prize for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place. At the end of the day we didn’t win it, so I’m looking forward for another chance this season to do that. When we first got eliminated I didn’t even want to watch basketball. The first few weeks I was so upset at the fact we lost. You always end up coming back to it and before you know it your watching the playoffs again (Laughs). “

The NBA playoffs had so much hype too as everybody was hungry to see the Kobe Bryant VS LeBron James NBA Finals. Unfortunately the Cavs didn’t make it losing to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. As Roger just mentioned how he got over the loss and continued to watch the playoffs he spoke on Orlando reaching the NBA Finals. “They(Orlando) deserved it and they had a great season. Dwight Howard is a great player and it was real fun to watch. LeBron and Kobe weren’t able to play each other and for whatever reason it didn’t happen. I think the NBA was still pleased to have Dwight Howard representing the Eastern Conference.”

Getting off the subject of basketball, Roger Mason is music junkie. He openly admits he is a music fanatic and involved with with the business behind the scenes as well. Roger has launched his own record label called Weight Records, in which he has a pop singer he whose career he wants to propel whose album will drop in January. A die hard fan of hip-hop as well Roger Mason shares what’s out right now that he’s playing on a daily basis. “I’m still listening to Jay-Z’s last album(BP3) and I think he did a great job with that. I’m looking forward to Wale’s new album “Attention Deficit”, he’s from D.C. too and a good friend of mine”. I’m looking forward to Young Jeezy album, he’s always dropping a smash. Jeezy and Wale I’m looking forward to next, but I’m still listening to Hov.”

Outside of hip-hop thought, Roger indeed opens up and lets it be known that he follows all genres. “I went to a U2 concert, I love them, Coldplay is good too, I’m a fan of music and it doesn’t stop with hip-hop.” Getting back into Jay-Z Roger tells how much he loves the record “So Ambitious” off Jay-Z’s “Blueprint 3″ that features Pharrell. “I’m a highly motivated person and I feel that songs wraps up my career and life. We all have been doubted at some point in our lives. All those things added fuel to my fire and that song justifies me, that’s my favorite song on that album.”