50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s — 21. Alonzo Mourning
The Charlotte Hornets were looking for a dominant big man when they took Georgetown’s Alonzo Mourning with the second overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft.
Mission accomplished.
Mourning was an All-Rookie selection in 1992-93 and was named to two All-Star games with the Hornets, finishing fourth in the NBA in blocked shots in 1992-93 and fifth in 1994-95. He was also fourth in the league in blocks per game in 1992-93 and 1993-94 and fifth in 1994-95.
But after rejecting a contract extension, Mourning was traded with LeRon Ellis and Pete Myers to the Miami Heat in November 1995 in exchange for Glen Rice, Matt Geiger, Khalid Reeves and a first-round pick in 1996.
In three seasons in Charlotte, Mourning averaged 21.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 blocks and 1.3 assists in 35.4 minutes per game, shooting .512/.282/.768.
He took over in Miami, earning three All-Star bids in the 1990s. In 1998-99, Mourning was the Defensive Player of the Year in the NBA, earning All-Defensive and All-NBA honors as well as finishing second in the MVP voting.
He led the NBA in blocks with 180 and blocks per game with 3.9 in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season after finishing fourth in 1996-97. He was third in field-goal percentage in 1997-98 and fourth in 1998-99.
Mourning also finished fifth in blocks per game in 1995-96 and fourth in 1996-97.
In four seasons with the Heat in the 1990s, Mourning averaged 20.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 1.6 assists in 36.2 minutes per game, shooting .530/.244/.663.
He remained with the Heat through the 2002-03 season, which he missed because of a kidney condition that also cost him all but 13 games in 2000-01.
He signed with the New Jersey Nets in July 2003, but in December 2004 was traded with Aaron Williams, Eric Williams and first-round picks in 2005 and 2006 to the Toronto Raptors for Vince Carter.
Mourning refused to report to Toronto and was eventually waived in February 2005. He returned to the Heat in March 2005 and was part of Miami’s 2006 NBA championship squad. A knee injury in December 2007 ended his career and he officially retired in January 2009.
He was fifth in the decade of the 1990s with 1,372 blocked shots, 13th with an average of 21 points per game and 11th with an average of 10.2 rebounds per game.
Mourning was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.