Plenty of NBA fans remember Alonzo Mourning as one of the best players in NBA history. The 6-foot-10 big man won two Defensive Player of the Year awards along with numerous All-Star appearances. The cherry on top was receiving an enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Mourning made the most out of his NBA career. However, that doesn’t mean he had his fair share of obstacles—one in particular was a battle between life and death.
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Alonzo Mourning entered the NBA with tremendous hype. Just like most dominant big men in the 1990s, he attended Georgetown University. The Charlotte Hornets selected Mourning with the second overall pick. He didn’t waste any time familiarizing NBA fans with his skill and talent.
By the age of 30, Mourning was undeniably one of the best players in the league. Despite being in the middle of his prime, he would receive some news that would alter the trajectory of his life.
During his involvement with Team USA in the 2000 Olympics, doctors discovered a rare kidney disease within Mourning. The seven-time All-Star began noticing extreme levels of fatigue along with swelling throughout his lower body.
Mourning would continue to deal with the kidney disease in the following years. Eventually, he would miss the entire 2002-03 season with the Miami Heat due to his health. The next year, he would return, this time as a member of the New Jersey Nets.
The Nets were extremely cautious with Mourning’s health once he joined the team. Head coach of the Nets, Byron Scott, never handled a situation such as Mourning’s. In a recent recollection of a story, Scott reveals how serious Mourning’s disease truly was.
“We had to really keep an eye on his white cell count,” Scott said on Byron Scott’s Fast Break. “Trainer comes up to me… and says, ‘He can’t practice today, his count is real low. If he practices today, he could die.'”
Being the competitor that Mourning is, that news didn’t land well with the big man. Regardless, he accepted the team’s decision, understanding what was on the line. As a result, the decision allowed him to be ready for their next regular-season game. Turns out, Mourning wasn’t in the right state to play in that instance either.
“He played the next night. We took him out of the game because he was so exhausted, and the next day we had to retire him. The doctor told me, ‘If you had let him play another two minutes or so, he would’ve died right there on that court,'” Scott revealed.
Thankfully, that outcome didn’t take place. It seemed that Mourning’s career was surely over; thankfully, that wasn’t the case. In December of 2003, Mourning’s cousin, Jason Cooper, provided his kidney for a transplant.
Before he knew it, Mourning was back on the basketball court. He would return to the Heat during the 2004-05 season, and the rest is history. He would become a crucial piece on the 2005-06 roster, which won the NBA championship.
