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Public Viewing For Ex-Knick Anthony Mason To Be Held In Queens

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Anthony Mason's family is giving fans an opportunity to pay their respects to the beloved New York Knicks forward, the team announced on Tuesday.

Mason, who suffered a heart attack last month, died Saturday at 48 years old. A public viewing will be held Thursday afternoon at the Greater Allen Cathedral in Queens, the Knicks said.

"They should be able to say their goodbyes like we did," Anthony Mason Jr. told the New York Daily News. "I was grateful that all the siblings and their mothers made it to the room. He loved the New York fans and I will also be grateful if they have the chance to pay their respects."

A private funeral is scheduled for Friday, the newspaper reported.

Sharing the frontcourt with Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing, Anthony Mason personified the Pat Riley-era Knicks, who muscled their way to Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals. He played with the Knicks from 1991-96, winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1995.

Mason said last year on WFAN radio that he would have welcomed an opportunity to work with the current team: "We imposed our will. We were going to make it hard on you. We were going to be up in your face the whole game and we wanted you to know that. People dreaded coming into the Garden, and that's the thing you want to get back to."

Former Knicks teammate John Starks said Monday that Mason "was more than a teammate, more like a brother to me."

"He had a big personality," Starks told WFAN's Steve Somers. "The typical New Yorker, you know, a guy that loved to have fun, enjoyed life. A guy who would give the shirt off his back to you."

John Starks On Anthony Mason

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