Alonzo Mourning will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, with an official announcement set for this weekend, according to a report by the Sun-Sentinel.
Mourning, who had his number 33 retired by the Miami Heat in 2009, was a 7-time All-Star and a member of the 2006 NBA Champions. Currently, the former center serves in a front office role for the Heat, and has done so since 2009. Mourning played the majority of his career with the Heat, which featured two multi-year stints. His career started with the Charlotte Hornets where Mourning was a second overall pick behind Shaquille O' Neal in 1992. Those two would end up playing with one another in the future.
Prior to the 2000-01 season, Mourning ran into health issues when he was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, which is a kindey disease. That disease caused him to miss the first five months of the season. However due to the condition worsening, Mourning then went on to miss the entire 2002-03 season which was the final one in his contract with Miami. He signed a multi-year contract with the New Jersey Nets as a free agent starting with the 2003-04 season but was forced to retire after only 12 games. That retirement would prove to be temporary but Mourning's time with the Nets was short-lived.
In the 2006 championship season, Mourning initially joined in a backup role due to the presence of O'Neal on the Heat. However Mourning ended up seeing 43 starts due to injuries for O'Neal as well as his own great performance. One of his teammates on that team was Dwyane Wade, who made sure his thoughts on Mourning's induction were known this morning:
BIG Congrts to my brother,mentor and friend #ZO on being a first ballet HOF...#2014 http://t.co/AsfSvfuJMV — THREE (@DwyaneWade) April 3, 2014
The Sentinel report also mentions that fellow Heat legend Tim Hardaway is not expected to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year in what was his second year of eligibility.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for August 8, 2014 in Springfield, MA.
