Alonzo Harding Mourning, Jr. (born February 8, 1970, in Chesapeake, Virginia) is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Miami Heat. He is also known simply as "Zo". Playing at center, he is 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) tall, and weighs 261 lb (119 kg). His tenacity on defense twice earned him NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and perennially placed him on the NBA All-Defensive Team. He is applauded for making a comeback after undergoing a kidney transplant and years later winning his first NBA Championship with the Heat. He has also played for the Charlotte Hornets and New Jersey Nets. He was a member of the 2006 NBA champion Miami Heat team.
Upon his graduation from Indian River High School in Chesapeake he led the team to 51 straight victories and a state title his junior year (1987). As a senior he averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds and 12 block shots a game. Mourning played college basketball for the Georgetown University Hoyas. He led the nation in blocked shots his freshman year and was an All American his last year there. He was selected second overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, behind Shaquille O'Neal. Mourning was named to the league's all-rookie team in 1993 after averaging 21.0 pts, 10.3 rebounds, and 3.47 blocks. He finished second to Shaquille O'Neal in rookie of the year voting. He posted the highest scoring average of any rookie in Hornets history. Mourning and O'Neal were the first NBA rookies since David Robinson in 1989-90 to average 20 or more points and 10-plus rebounds in their first seasons. Mourning shattered Charlotte's blocked-shots records, becoming the Hornets' all-time career leader in the 49th game of the season. The greatest moment of Mourning's rookie season came on May 5, 1993 in Game 4 of a first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. His 20-footer at the buzzer gave the Hornets a 104-103 victory in the game and a three-games-to-one victory in the series.
In the 1994-95 season, Mourning and teammate Larry Johnson elevated the Hornets into a 50-win team and brought them to the playoffs. Mourning ranked first on the team in scoring (21.3 ppg), rebounding (9.9 rpg), blocked shots (2.92 per game), and field goal percentage (.519).
Friction with Johnson and contract issues forced a change, so after three years in Charlotte, he was traded to Miami, where he played for the Heat for the next seven seasons. He was the centerpiece of the Pat Riley-coached Miami Heat, averaging close to 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, and dominating the paint with his intimidating shot-blocking. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice during this period and was named into the All-NBA First Team after leading the Heat in scoring (20.1 ppg), field-goal percentage (.511), rebounds (11.0), blocked shots (3.9) during the 1999-2000 NBA season. He and Tim Hardaway led the Heat into playoffs, where the Knicks-Heat rivalry intensified.
In the 1997 NBA Playoffs, with the Heat down 3-0 to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, Zo guaranteed a victory in Game 4. The Heat won the Game 87-80, but the Heat lost in five. The next season, Miami would be eliminated in the first round by the Knicks, a series in which Mourning was suspended for the 5th and deciding game of due to an on-court fight with Larry Johnson where Knicks Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy wound up hanging onto Mourning's leg in an attempt to break it up. Miami would also be eliminated by the Knicks in the playoffs the following two seasons.
In 2000, Miami underwent an overhaul to attempt to put together the pieces to win a championship, and expectations leading up to the season were high. However, prior the start of the 2000-01 season, Mourning was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a disease of the kidneys, that had caused him to miss the first five months of that season. Even after the diagnosis, Mourning returned and played in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game. Because his condition worsened, Mourning did not play during the entire 2002-03 season and his expiring contract was not renewed by the then-rebuilding Heat.
As a free agent, in 2003 he signed a four-year contract with the New Jersey Nets. But on November 25, 2003 Mourning retired from the NBA due to complications from his kidney disease. On December 19 of that year he underwent a successful kidney transplant. In 2004, he started practicing with the Nets again, and made the team's regular season roster for a part of his time spent with the Nets in the 2004-05 season. However, he did not play a significant role with the Nets and openly complained to the media that he wanted out of New Jersey, especially after the team traded Kenyon Martin. Mourning was traded to the Toronto Raptors on December 17, 2004, and was bought out of his contract on February 11, 2005 because he refused to report to the Raptors.
Mourning re-signed with the Heat on March 1, 2005. His role was reduced as a backup because of superstar Shaquille O'Neal, although he has been called upon as a starter due to O'Neal missing stretches due to injury. Because of physical limitations, his minutes were reduced, but was still a steady contributor. Mourning's tenacious defense, steady offense, and all around hustle helped the Heat gain and maintain the second-best record in the NBA's Eastern conference during the 2005-06 season; his intensity had earned him the title "The Ultimate Warrior" amongst Miami Heat fans. Mourning finished the regular season ranking third in blocked shots at 2.66 per game, despite only playing 20 minutes per contest.
The Miami Heat and Mourning finally won the elusive NBA Championship in the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks 4 games to 2. Although he was used as a reserve center behind Shaquille O'Neal during the Finals, he contributed 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 blocks in the decisive Game 6 of the series and was a strong force throughout.
After winning the championship, Mourning announced that he would return to the Heat in 2006-07 to defend their title, despite receiving offers of more money from other teams, including the San Antonio Spurs.
Big Zo averages the most blocks in the NBA per 48 minutes with 5.46.
He recently became the Heat's all-time leader in points scored.
Olympic medal record
Men's basketball
Gold
Sydney 2000
United States
On November 25, 2003, Mourning's cousin and a former U. S. Marine, Jason Cooper, was visiting Mourning's gravely ill grandmother in the hospital. Mourning's father was present and informed Cooper that Alonzo was retiring that very same day from the NBA because of a life-threatening kidney disease, focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, the same problem that Sean Elliott had in 1999. Cooper asked if there was anything he could do, and began to contemplate donating one of his kidneys to his estranged cousin, who he had not seen in 25 years and whom he only knew through basketball. Cooper was tested for compatibility, along with many other family members and friends (including fellow NBA center and good friend Patrick Ewing); as fate would have it, during his grandmother's funeral, Alonzo received the good news that Jason Cooper was a match.
Mourning received Cooper's left kidney on December 19, 2003.
In the 1998 NBA Playoffs, Mourning was ejected after getting into a fight with New York Knick and former teammate Larry Johnson with 1.4 seconds remaining in Game 4 of the first round of the NBA playoffs, an incident best remembered for Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy being knocked down attempting to break up the fight and being forced to grab onto Mourning's leg to avoid being trampled. He was subsequently suspended for the decisive Game 5 of the series, a costly punishment as the Knicks wound up winning 98-81 to take the series three games to two.
When Mourning was traded from the Nets to the Raptors along with two other players (Aaron Williams and Eric Williams) and two-draft-picks for Vince Carter, the Raptors could not play him, as he declined to show up to Toronto, stating medical reasons. This action was heavily criticized by the media. Mourning stayed on the injured list for several months before having the remainder of his contract bought out, and getting released. Many believed that he was on the injured list just to avoid playing with the low-ranked Raptors, preferring to play for a championship contender. Soon after his release, Mourning signed with his former team, the Miami Heat, where he won his first NBA Championship in the 2005-06 season, defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4 games to 2.
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