The Legacy of Alonzo Mourning

Alonzo Mourning was the original cornerstone of the Miami Heat franchise. He was the original "Beast" of the Heat, a 1996 acquisition who teamed with Pat Riley to pioneer the Heat franchise to their reputation of toughness, intensity, and strength. 

Today, those who remember Alonzo Mourning acknowledge his story as one of inspiration. They willingly acknowledge his contributions off of the court as philanthropic actions of generosity and compassion. 

However his domination, intensity, and beast-like nature on the court is often forgotten. This is a tribute to what he did on the court—a reminder to NBA fans of today, of the man they called Zo. 

Alonzo Mourning was acquired as part of a trade masterminded by all-time great coach Pat Riley. For those who may have forgotten, Mourning was diagnosed with a kidney disease in 2000, which essentially forced him off of the court. This not only shortened his career, but prohibited him from ever returning to the All-NBA form that he was playing at.

Essentially, Mourning's ailment sliced his career into only eight seasons where he was able to play at full physical capacity. So what did he achieve in those eight years? 

Prior to Mourning's arrival, the Heat had only made the playoffs twice, and had never won over 42 games in a season. In his six years with the Heat he led them to the playoffs every single year, going as far as the Conference Finals in 1997. 

Led by Mourning, the Heat captured four-straight Atlantic Division Titles from 1997-2000, won a still-standing franchise record 61 games in '97, and were the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference in 1999. 

Those Heat teams were legitimate contenders with Zo patrolling the paint and Timmy Hardaway getting to the bucket at will. From 1995-2000 the Heat went 243-135. 

From a personal standpoint, Mourning was racking up the accolades too. In his eight full seasons he was an NBA All-Star seven times and selected to the All-Rookie First Team in addition to two All-NBA and All-Defensive selections. 

He won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award in consecutive years (1999, 2000), took home a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was runner-up to Karl Malone for the MVP in 1999. 

To put his on-court ability into perspective with today's centers, Mourning's career high season average of 11.0 RPG is higher than any of Yao Ming's, and Mourning's career high season average of 23.2 PPG is higher than any of Dwight Howard's single-season averages. 

Neither Yao nor Howard, who is known for his defensive dominance, have ever come close to averaging Mourning's career high season average of 3.9 BPG. Mourning's career average of 2.8 BPG is itself only 0.1 lower than Howard's career high of 2.9 this last season. 

Mourning's career average of 2.81 blocks per game is sixth in NBA history, and he would probably be higher than 10th in all-time shots blocked, had he not been deterred. 

In addition, his kidney derailed him as he was entering the 21st century. Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing were fading out of the league and Mourning was about to get his turn. Without this most unfortunate timing he would have been the undisputed second-best center after Shaquille O'Neal for at least half of a decade. 

Right about now, Big Ben and Yao should be thanking Zo's kidneys for fading on him, otherwise they wouldn't have gotten those All-NBA and All-Star selections. 

Alonzo Mourning was a true legend of the game, a warrior, and beast in his own right. He pioneered the Miami Heat franchise and accomplished in only eight healthy seasons more team and individual accolades than countless stars accomplish in full careers.

While his contributions off of the court have been incredibly significant in helping those in the community, people often overlook the true beast he was during his playing days.

His jersey has been retired, soon he'll be on the road to Springfield.

It's time the world woke up and recognized the legacy...