Road to Duke
The Plumlee basketball story begins at a Purdue basketball camp in the summer of 1979. Leslie Schultz, a 6’1” forward on the Purdue women’s team, was working as a counselor. Millard "Perky" Plumlee, a 6’7” forward from Tennessee Tech, was there too. They noticed each other but didn’t connect. Years later, at a summer tournament in Indianapolis, Leslie fouled out and sat down on the bench. Perky was sitting right behind her, waiting for his game. This time, the connection held.
Leslie had grabbed 25 rebounds in a single game at Purdue — a record that still stands. Perky was known for his leaping ability at Tennessee Tech. Their genetic match, as one writer put it, was meant to bear future post players. That was confirmed when their first son, Miles, was born at 11 pounds and 23 inches long. The nurse found his feet were too long for the ink pad.
The lineage ran deeper. Leslie’s father, Albert "Bud" Schultz, played at Michigan Tech in 1944 and on the U.S. Air Force Service Team in 1945. Her brother William played at Wisconsin-Eau Claire (1972 NAIA National Championship game). Another brother, Chad, played at Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The Plumlees’ youngest child, Madeleine, would play volleyball at Notre Dame. Every branch of the family tree led back to a gymnasium.
Mason Alexander Plumlee was born March 5, 1990, in Fort Wayne, Indiana — the middle of three brothers. Miles was two years older, Marshall two years younger. They moved to Warsaw, Indiana, population 13,500, into a house with an adjustable hoop in the driveway. That driveway was where it began. Perky called it cheap entertainment. The one-on-one games between Miles and Mason were ferocious. Marshall, smaller and younger, got in when he could. Miles admitted: it wasn’t always literally a fight, but we never finished a lot of the games.
After Mason’s freshman year at Warsaw Community High School, Perky and Leslie made a controversial decision: they sent Miles and Mason to Christ School, an all-boys boarding school in Arden, North Carolina, 600 miles from home. Both were getting D-I attention but playing only 13 minutes per game at Warsaw. The letters to the editor in Warsaw were brutal: What kind of parents are these? Perky and Leslie wiped away tears all the way across the mountains.
Mason adjusted. At Christ School — 200 students, all boys — he won three state championships, compiled a 99–8 record, was named NC Mr. Basketball, and earned McDonald’s All-American honors. He also cleared 6’8” in the high jump. Miles had committed to Stanford, but when the coach left for LSU, Mason convinced him to come to Duke. When Coach K asked if it was okay to recruit Miles, Mason didn’t hesitate: That’d be great. I’d love it if you’d recruit Miles.
At Duke
Mason Plumlee played four years at Duke, 2009–13 — the most dramatic growth story in modern Duke history. As a freshman in 2009–10, he was a backup who started one game and averaged 3.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG. He played alongside Miles on the 2010 national championship team — the Hayward-at-the-buzzer game against Butler. Mason was a role player who carried water and cheered and learned.
Sophomore: started 31 games, 7.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG, six double-doubles. Junior: 11.1 PPG, 9.2 RPG, All-ACC Third Team, Academic All-American First Team — only the third Duke player to earn that honor twice, alongside Shane Battier and Greg Paulus. He appeared on NBA mock drafts and could have left. Instead, he came back. The allure of playing with both brothers was a factor — Marshall had arrived as a freshman, and 2011–12 was the only year all three Plumlees wore Duke blue at the same time. They became the third D-I brother trio in history on the same team, joining Villanova’s Brennans and Dayton’s Bockhorns from 1957–58. Twenty feet seven inches and 705 pounds of Plumlees banging the boards.
Senior year was the masterpiece: 17.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.8 BPG. All-ACC First Team. ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He broke Robert Brickey’s all-time Duke career dunk record of 147 — which had stood since 1990. He told reporters: "Nobody goes from the bench to the NBA. Come on." Then he proved himself wrong. Selected 22nd overall by the Brooklyn Nets.
Seven consecutive seasons of Plumlees in Durham (2008–16). All three won NCAA championships — Miles and Mason in 2010, Marshall in 2015. No family in Duke basketball history can match that.
After Duke
Brooklyn selected Plumlee 22nd overall in 2013. On November 15, his first game against Miles and the Phoenix Suns, he had 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists in a Nets overtime win. On March 17, 2014, both brothers started for their respective teams. That summer, Mason won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Thirteen NBA seasons followed: Brooklyn, Portland, Denver, Detroit, Charlotte, LA Clippers, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, San Antonio. Eight teams. 874+ career games. 7.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.4 APG. Never an All-Star. A center who could pass — consistently averaging over two assists from the five, a rarity — who could screen, defend, run the floor, and be the smartest player on any roster. His nickname, Plumdog Millionaire, captured the joy and the improbability: the kid from Warsaw who went from a freshman bench player to a thirteen-year NBA career.
Where Is He Now
In February 2026, Mason Plumlee signed with the San Antonio Spurs for the remainder of the season. He turns thirty-six on March 5. He is still playing — conditioning his way back from a December groin surgery, working alongside Victor Wembanyama as the oldest player on the roster.
Miles retired after winning an NBL championship with the Perth Wildcats in 2020. Marshall won the 2015 NCAA title, played briefly with the Knicks, and became a Ranger-qualified officer in the United States Army. Sister Madeleine played volleyball at Notre Dame. Their mother still holds the Purdue single-game rebound record. Their father still quotes scripture about trusting the path.
Mason Plumlee was born in Fort Wayne and raised in Warsaw, Indiana, in a house with an adjustable hoop and two brothers who fought over every game and never finished most of them. His parents met at a basketball camp. His grandfather played on an Air Force team in 1945. His mother’s rebound record at Purdue still stands. His father sent him to boarding school 600 miles away and cried all the way across the mountains. He won three state championships at a school with 200 students. He was a backup on a championship team as a freshman and came back four straight years until he was All-ACC and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He broke Robert Brickey’s dunk record. He played one season with both brothers — the third time that happened in D-I history since 1958. All three Plumlee brothers won NCAA championships at Duke. He has played thirteen NBA seasons for eight teams. He won a FIBA World Cup gold medal. He is thirty-five and still playing. Seven consecutive seasons of Plumlees in Durham. The driveway hoop. The tears on the mountain road. The ink pad that was too small for the first son’s feet. This is a basketball family, and Duke was their home.