Here at The Sports Fan Journal, I write these articles that some of you have come to know and love as Obituaries. Over the course of the last two-plus years, I've had to write eulogies for Kendrick Perkins and Pau Gasol with regularly as their bodies would be sacrificed for the good of posters and YouTube clicks across the land.
However, I must admit that there is one player I wish I could've written an obituary for, but the internet age wasn't around quite yet for me to properly eulogize him, and that man is Alonzo Mourning. Per the NBA, the second greatest center in Georgetown history will now be taking his talents to the Hall of Fame in Springfield, and that's an honor that's well-deserved:
Alonzo Mourning was selected today into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2014. Mourning is joined in the Class of 2014 by Nat Clifton, Bob Leonard, Sarunas Marciulionis, Nolan Richardson, Mitch Richmond, Guy Rodgers, David Stern, Gary Williams and the Immaculata University teams of the early 1970s. To earn induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, a finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee. The Class of 2014 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, MA on August 8, 2014.
I will always have the ultimate respect for Mourning, as there were few players who were as talented and intimidating on the court as him. Moreover, his ability to overcome kidney disease and his charitable work make him a man that I truly admire. The league was a better place with Zo in it, and he's the type of role model all athletes could and should look up to.
Now, with all that pleasantries out of the way, one indelible image that will forever remain in my head is Alonzo Mourning getting dunked on. Now look, I understand that this man finished 12th on the NBA's all-time blocks list by challenging anyone and everyone who decided to come at the rim, but … do you all know how many obituaries I could've written on Mourning? Goodness gracious. Maybe this video can serve as a badge of honor in a weird way, because Mourning never would've been as great as he was if he wasn't willing to get continually put on posters.
All hail Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr., 2014 Hall-of-Famer. An honor well-deserved for one of the best big men of his generation.
Eddie Maisonet is the founder and editor emeritus of The Sports Fan Journal. Currently, he serves as an associate editor for ESPN.com. He is an unabashed Russell Westbrook and Barry Switzer apologist, owns over 100 fitteds and snapbacks, and lives by Reggie Jackson’s famous quote, “I am the straw that stirs the drink.”