Former Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning told former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson last month he remembers his introduction to Michael Jordan to the NBA.
It was his rookie year in 1992 when Mourning was playing for the Charlotte Hornets. Jordan, who was with the Chicago Bulls at the time, flew threw the lane for a dunk over the 6-foot-11 Mourning.
“When he dunked on me, he flexed and he screamed. I was like, `Oh man,”‘ Mourning said. “I had blocked a bunch of shots. I remember the roar after he dunked on me. He got me good. I’m blaming Kendall Gill for that. Kendall Gill was always talking (expletive) to Mike and I was like, `Yo, he’s gonna blow past you and come at me.”
“I called Shaq and said, `l still love you man, let me enjoy my two votes,” Mourning said on the podcast. “Shaq was like, ‘I didn’t win it unanimously.’ and Ernie (Johnson) said no, a guy named [Alonzo] Mourning got two votes. I had numbers. We should have had co-Rookies of the Year,” Mourning said. “We [Charlotte] went to the playoffs and Orlando didn’t. That should have counted for something.”‘
Scott Salomon is a contributor to Back In the Day NBA. He can be reached at [email protected].