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PRE-NBA
Young Zo
College
Years
Charlotte
NBA Rookie
All-Star Reserve
Superstar
Miami
Heat
First
Season
61 Win Season
Suspension
Master of Rejection
Defensive Expert
Medical Defense
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 The 98/99 season was the year of the
lockout. The Heat faced many back-to-back nights and several
back-to-back-to-back nights as well. Each team played 50 games, and after
Zo’s season of injuries, he has new plans. After a couple of seasons about
media sources criticizing Alonzo and describing him as foul-plagued and
immature, Zo would make a significant and lasting change for the better.
Mourning averaged 20.1 points, a career-high 11.0 rebounds, and led the NBA
with 3.91 blocks per game.
Zo was the obvious choice for Defensive Player of the Year, and he won, which
gave him an All-Defensive First Team berth. He received 89 out of a possible
118 votes, the most ever in NBA history. The Heat’s 33-17 record resulted in
a three-way tie for first place, which Miami won which meant not only did
they win their third Atlantic title, but came in first place in the East,
winning the Eastern Conference. This was notable because two Heat starters,
Jamal Mashburn and Voshon Lenard, each missed more than half of the season
with injuries.
Although Utah’s Karl Malone won the leagues’ MVP award, Zo came in second
place. Mourning’s outstanding season continued after he was named the All-NBA
First Team center, his first All-NBA appearance.
In the first round of the playoffs, the #1 seed Heat would meet a New York Knicks team that barely made the playoffs by getting into the 8th and final seed in the Eastern Conference. Zo averaged 21 ppg over the 5 game
series but Miami lost when Allan Houston’s final shot bounced in with 0.8
seconds left in the game. The Knicks would later become the first 8th seed to advance to the NBA Finals and Miami became the first Eastern Conference First Seed to lose to an 8th Seed.
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