"Zo was never one to run from the ball" - Dell Curry recalls how different Mourning was from typical NBA rookies

“Zo was never one to run from the ball” – Dell Curry recalls how different Mourning was from typical NBA rookies originally appeared on Basketball Network.

Unless the player was Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki or Kevin Garnett, big men tend to shy away from the ball during crunch time. Whether it was because they were poor free-throw shooters or simply didn’t have the confidence to take over a game, it was a common belief in the NBA.

But then there was Alonzo Mourning. The 6’10” center, who began his career playing for the Charlotte Hornets, was never one to back down from a challenge on the court. Dell Curry, a former teammate of Mourning’s on the Hornets, recalls how different Zo was the moment he stepped onto the NBA’s hardwood floors.

Zo had to develop his toughness early in life

Mourning’s childhood wasn’t the same as that of most young boys. Growing up in Chesapeake, Virginia, he dealt with adversity at age 10 when his parents separated, and he chose to live in a group home.

“I was very clumsy, I was awkward,” Mourning recalled of his childhood. “Growing up in foster care and living in a group home, there was times when I kind of looked at myself as something ‘less than,’ because I grew up in those situations.”

Fortunately, Zo was taken in by a caring woman named Fannie Threet, a retired school teacher who helped raise 49 children. Although he was treated well and had a roof over his head, Mourning still had to keep his guard up, which in turn, helped him develop his resiliency, something that would immensely help him as he went on to play for Georgetown in the NCAA and later on in the NBA.

“That over time kind of developed as a mental approach of resiliency to overcome, and not succumb to, my circumstances,” Zo shared.

Zo wasn’t fazed by anything

The Hornets selected Zo with the second pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, right behind Shaquille O’Neal. He more than lived up to the hype, as Mourning averaged 21.0 points on 51 percent shooting, 10.3 boards and 3.5 blocks per game. More than his numbers was the tremendous impact he had on the franchise.

After winning only 31 games the previous season, the Hornets went 44-38 during Zo’s rookie season, which was good enough to book the fifth seed and forge a first-round playoff showdown against an aging Boston Celtics squad that still had Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. After losing Game 1, the Hornets retaliated by winning the next two games to push the Celtics to the edge of elimination.

Game 4 saw the Celtics show their resilience as they led, 103-102, and were three seconds away from forcing a winner-takes-all Game 5. As Dell inbounded the ball from the baseline, the play was supposedly for wingman Kendall Gill to spring open off a Mourning screen. However, the Celtics sniffed the play out and busted the action, forcing Curry to improvise.

This moment was one where big men usually shy away from the action. But not Mourning, who received the ball at the top of the key, took one dribble before rising up and making a long jumper to win the game and the series for the Hornets.

“Zo was never one to run from the ball,” Curry stressed. “A ton of guys in the league, and especially centers, with the clock running down, probably would not be comfortable in that position.”

“But I knew that was not the case with Zo. He was not worried about missing a big shot like that, and I knew he could make it, too. I had confidence in him,” the father of Golden State superstar Steph Curry added.

Perhaps Zo’s childhood experiences helped prepare him for that moment. Or maybe he was just that tough-minded. Whatever the case, Mourning was a fearless man who thrived when the pressure was on and the lights were bright.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared.

“Zo was never one to run from the ball” – Dell Curry recalls how different Mourning was from typical NBA rookies

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