Every time someone challenged Michael Jordan, something inside him flipped. It didn’t matter if it was a teammate, a rival, or even a rising star trying to make a name. If you poked the bear, you were going to get scorched. Over the years, countless defenders felt that heat.
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Many of them got put on a poster, but few got it as bad as Alonzo Mourning. MJ’s dunk on Zo is still one of the most iconic plays in NBA history. Right from the setup, the power, to his celebration, everything was perfect.
Decades later, the backstory behind that dunk has surfaced, thanks to Hoop Dreams producer Peter Gilbert. During an appearance on the Sports Consiglieres Podcast, Gilbert revealed what went down in the lead-up to the dunk that made MJ celebrate that particular dunk more than others.
At the time, Zo was with the Charlotte Hornets. In the heat of the moment, he made the mistake of talking trash to Jordan. MJ didn’t like it at all. So, while inbounding the ball from under the basket, His Airness turned to Gilbert and said, “I’m gonna throw the ball into Pippen…And Pippen is gonna throw it back to me and I’m gonna dunk on that mother***er.”
MJ was screaming all of this to Gilbert so that Zo could hear what was coming to him. He made a vicious drive to the rim, showed the signature Jordan elevation, had enough contact to make Zo regret his actions, and then the flush right over one of the best shot blockers the league had at the time. The dunk was near perfect.
While MJ had his reasons to humiliate Mourning, Scottie Pippen also dunked on him for the fun of it. Other than the celebration, Pippen’s dunk was very similar to what MJ did to Zo. Decades later, the Miami Heat legend reflected on the dunk and called it his ‘Welcome to the NBA moment.’
During a conversation with Stephen Jackson, he said, “He dunked on me. He flexed and screamed…I mean, the roar after he dunked on me, man. I was like, ‘Okay.’” Zo mentioned that before that dunk, he had blocked a few shots of MJ, but he didn’t mention the trash talk that made Jordan seek revenge on him.
A few days after facing MJ’s wrath, Mourning did an interview with Ahmad Rashad where he was asked about the dunk. He said, “Either you’re gonna block the shot, or get dunked on. And believe me, I’ve caught more shots and blocked more shots than I’ve been dunked on.” Zo claimed that the celebration that followed was the result of growing frustration within MJ because of the shots he had blocked in previous games.
