The ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moments are special for new players because despite the humiliation, they remember it for life. So many great players in the league have had their welcome moment from another great from the opposition’s side. Even though it’s a rude awakening for the athletes, it also serves as a reminder to be humble. For Alonzo Mourning, the welcome moment came from none other than Michael Jordan. During a recent appearance on the All The Smoke podcast, the NBA veteran detailed his experience of being humbled by MJ.
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When asked by Stephen Jackson what his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment was, the 7x All-Star said with a big sigh, “MJ…When he dunked on me.” Interestingly, the disrespectful dunk wasn’t a result of his own mistakes as his teammate Kendall Gill was the one instigating the wrong man. Zo said, “I’m blaming Kendall Gill for that. Kendall Gill was always talking sh*t to Mike and I’m like, ‘Yo, he gon’ blow past you and he’s coming at me.”
His worst fear came true and that too, in his backyard as he got dunked on by Jordan at home. In an illustrious career spanning 16 years, Zo is acknowledged as one of the all-time greats. The 54-year-old was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. But it was the start of his career that put him on the right path from the very beginning. The NBA veteran entered the league in 1992 after being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets as the second overall pick.
As soon as he entered the league, Zo got to work and accumulated impressive stats in his rookie year. According to Stat Muse, he played 78 games in his rookie year where he averaged 21 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and one assist per game. For the impressive showcase, he was included in the NBA All-Rookie First Team. However, the same year, he had one of his most humiliating moments on the court as well. To MJ’s credit, he likes putting people in their place, even after retirement.
Michael Jordan went nuclear against the team he owned
From a financial standpoint, Jordan added another feather to his cap with his ownership stint with the Hornets. The NBA veteran added billions of dollars to his net worth following the $3 billion sale of the team last year. However, the Charlotte franchise was one of the biggest failures in the league when he was the owner. One time, MJ got so frustrated by the team that he decided to teach his players a lesson during practice.
Eduardo Najera recalled the story of what happened after Jackson started talking trash to MJ and ended up waking the giant. He said, “Michael got furious, trash-talking and killing him and all of us, telling Stephen Jackson,’ How does the leather taste in your mouth’ after every shot.” Stories like these must be comforting for Zo, because if MJ can do this to his team, expecting mercy from him as an opponent should not even be on the card.
