The NBA’s Ultimate WARRIOR | Alonzo Mourning

The NBA’s Ultimate WARRIOR | Alonzo Mourning

The ultimate rim protector, leader, and winner, Alonzo Morning was one of the best big men of his time. He received multiple awards and honors, and there’s one battle he faced that highlighted the type of character he possessed. To start, here’s an overview of the legendary career he had. He played a valuable role for the 2006 Miami Heat Championship team. He won two defensive player of the year awards. He has only won 10 players to win him multiple times. He’s a seventime all-star. He led the league in blocks twice. He’s currently sixth all time in career blocks per game, 11th in blocks, and 26th in defensive rating. That is unquestionably the resume of a Hall of Famer. He was inducted in 2014. Right from the start, he proved that this was his potential. In the 1992 draft, he was selected second by the Charlotte Hornets. This was a team that existed for only four years. Like most expansion teams, it takes a while before they experience a winning season. They were starting to make progress and they won 31 games. They had promising young players such as Larry Johnson, Kendall Gil, and of course, Mugsy Bucks. Alonzo Morning was a missing piece that would take this team to another level. In just his first season, he helped the Hornets improve by 13 wins. They became one of the most exciting teams in the league. They won 44 games, and they had the fifth best record in the East. This is what he produced as a rookie. He averaged 21 points on 51% shooting, 10.3 rebounds, and three and a half blocks per game. He was already playing like one of the top centers in the league. Take for example what he did against the Detroit Pistons late in the season. He had 36 points on 79% shooting, 22 rebounds, and three blocks. At times he was outright dominant. In the playoffs, he showed zero signs of rookie jitters. In the first round against the battle tested Boston Celtics, he enforced his will against their legendary front line. In fact, he recorded the best numbers of his playoff career. For the series, he averaged 23.8 points on 48% shooting, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game. But nothing was bigger than what he did in game four. They were down by one point with 3.3 seconds remaining. And he did this for the win. Alonsozo Morty, the biggest shot of his life is the greatest highlight of his career and the biggest shot in Charlotte Hornets history. He ended Kevin Mcll’s career as this was his last game. It was time for a new era. They were later losing five games to the New York Knicks in the following round, but the future of this team seemed promising. However, in 1994, this team couldn’t seem to stay healthy. Alonzo missed 22 games and Larry Johnson missed 31 games. This caused the Hornets to miss the final playoff spot by one game. But in 1995, they started to look like the team that everyone envisioned. He helped lead this team to his first 50 win season. They were making their mark on the NBA. All the 80s and 90s kids can attest to how popular their gear was. They seemed destined for a deep playoff run. Then all of a sudden, he was back. Their first round matchup came against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. He showed no signs of rust as he averaged 32.3 points per game on nearly 50% shooting for the series. The landscape of the NBA completely shifted. Changes needed to be made. Alonzo was going to be a free agent in the following year and he was seeking a contract that was worth between 13 to 15 million. The Horner’s final offer was 11 million per year. After he was rejected, they had no other choice but to trade him. He was sent to the Miami Heat for sharpshooter Glenn Rice. After the deal was made, Alonzo was not viewed positively. The narrative was that he was being greedy, but in reality, he made the best decision, not just from a financial sense, but for his basketball career. In that same off season, Miami was also able to acquire Pat Riley as a coach and team president. His stamp on the organization was felt immediately, and he established a culture that is still prominent today. Alonzo Morning was his first disciple. He was going to build the team around Morning’s toughness and defensive greatness. This is where Alonzo took his game to another level. From 1997 to 2000, they were in second place in the Easter standings every year except in 1999 when they were the best team. During that span, he won the defensive player of the year award twice. He led the league in blocks twice. He was selected for the AllNBA first team ahead of Shaq. In 1999, he was selected for the AllNBA first team defense twice, and he was a league leader in defensive rating. In 1997, that is an impressive four-year stretch. It’s no wonder that he finished in the top three in MVP voting for two consecutive seasons. He even finished runner up in 1999. He was undoubtedly the best center in the league behind Shaq during that span. His best individual season came in his first year with the Miami Heat. He averages career-high 23.2 points on 52% shooting, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game. He was surely inspired by all the negative talk surrounding him. And there were a few times he took his anger out on his opponents. The most notable example came against the Washington Bullets. He scored his career-high 50 points on 71% shooting along with 12 rebounds and two blocks. He also had a dominant performance against the Boston Celtics. He recorded 45 points on 56% shooting, 11 rebounds, and seven blocks. This is only the seventh time in history that a player has posted over 45 points and seven blocks in a game. But his most memorable season surely came in 1997. That is when the Heat won an impressive 61 games. That is still the second best record in franchise history. But he didn’t do it alone. This team had a lot of tremendous pieces that contributed to their success. They had Hall of Fame point guard Tim Hardaway, the talented scorer Jamal Mashburn, a great spot-up shooter and Dan Marley, and the ultimate role player PJ Brown. This was one of the most underrated teams of the9s. Their biggest accomplishment was when they reached the conference finals. This was proof that Alonzo could lead a team to a deep playoff run. However, that was the only time they experienced playoff success. Although they were dominant in the regular season, they got bounced from the first round three times from 1996 to 2000. There were only two teams that they lost to, the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks. The Bulls weren’t a level above everyone else. But the Knicks broke their hearts one too many times. In each of their four playoff series, it either went to the deciding fifth or seventh game. Those matchups were always super intense and physical. They represented what basketball was all about in the late ‘9s. The most infamous scuffle came when Jeff Van Gundy was dangling on his feet. that caused Morning to be suspended for game five of the 1998 first round series. Without their leader, the Heat lost by 17 points. In 1999, he did everything that he could to save his team from the humiliation of losing in the first round as a number one seed. But this iconic shot by Alan Houston in game five stabbed this team right in the heart. Then in 2000, they lost in game seven on their home floor once again to the Knicks. Morning played great under pressure. He had 29 points on 60% shooting, 13 rebounds, and five blocks. However, Tim Hardaway and Jamal Mashburn shot a combined 9 of 35 from the field. It was a moment that marked the end of an era. Something needed to change. In the summer, Alonzo played for Team USA in the Olympics. They won the gold medal and he was the team’s third leading score. But as the 2000/1 season was about to start, he received life-changing news. He was diagnosed with a serious kidney disease. It was considered life-threatening if not treated properly. It was reported that he needed to take 14 pills a day to control his blood pressure and cholesterol levels. No one was sure when he would return to the court, if ever. But on the seventh game of the season, he made his surprising return. There was no reason for him to come back that late in the season, but his love for the game was too strong. He told reporters that he was scared every time he stepped on the court because of his uncertain future, be wanting to be out there to support his team. In the following season, he was well enough to play 75 games. However, he suffered a major setback in the 2002 off season. He was sidelined indefinitely because his personal and team physicians did not believe he was healthy enough to play. He tried to make a comeback when he was traded to the New Jersey Nets in the 2003 off season, but he only played 12 games. He told the basketball world that he was retiring. He urgently needed a kidney transplant. Thankfully, his cousin was able to provide it. This saved Morning’s life. He conquered the biggest battle of his life. The next one was the road back to the NBA. Winning a championship seemed like nothing after everything he endured. But it wasn’t going to be easy. He mentioned that his first workout after the surgery, he could barely walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes. Before his illness, he could curl a 100 lb dumbbell. After the transplant, he struggled to pick up a 25 lb dumbbell. He eventually was able to get in basketball shape. The next line of business was to finish what he started. He got traded by the Nets and then received a buyout from the Raptors. That allowed him to rejoin the Miami Heat as a free agent. He was going to be the backup for Shaquille O’Neal. His job was to simply protect the rim and he did it as well as ever before. Despite coming off the bench, he averaged 2.7 blocks per game in the 2005/6 season. He finished third in the league. He played his role to perfection and he was one of the leaders of the locker room, but in the playoffs, he provided much more than guidance. He was an X factor in the biggest game of the year. It’s game six of the NBA finals. He had eight points, six rebounds, and five blocks. Four of those blocks came in the second half. Those stops were huge to prevent the Mavericks from erasing their deficit. He played a major part in the Miami Heat winning their first title in franchise history. He certainly earned it. He got his ring before retiring in 2008. He has one of the most inspiring stories of any player. No matter what life threw at him, he was willing to do the work to live life to the fullest and win. But what about you all? What do you remember the most from his career? Where do you think he should be ranked among the greatest centers of all time? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for watching.

A retrospective/documentary of the Hall of Fame career of Alonzo Mourning with the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat.

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