Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970 in Chesapeake VA) is an American professional basketball executive and former NBA player.

Nicknamed “Zo”, he started playing at Indian River High School on the football team in 1984. At 6’7 at the beginning of the season the coach had high expectations but Zo’s motor skills had not caught up to his height. The coach suggested that he try out for the basketball team.

Zo was now 6’8. The era of Alonzo Mourning the basketball player had dawned. Indian River was named #1 at the beginning of the 1985 season. That was a surprise since they only had two returning starters but it was assumed with Zo playing, the team would do well. Zo was young and tall and everyone had their eyes on the inexperienced center. This made him prone to early foul trouble. The coach learned to use Zo off the bench which helped tremendously in those early years.

During his time at Indian River High School he led the team to 51 straight victories and a state title his junior year (1987). As a senior, he averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds and 12 blocked shots per game. He was named Player of the Year by USA Today, Parade, Gatorade, and Naismith. Zo graduated from Indian River High School in 1988 and continued his education and basketball career for the Georgetown University Hoyas. He led the nation in blocked shots his freshman year and was an All-American his last year there.

Zo was selected in the 1992 NBA draft in the first round 2nd pick in the by the Charlotte Hornets behind Shaquille O’Neal and before Christian Laettner. Mourning was named to the league’s all-rookie team in 1993 after averaging 21.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 3.47 blocks. He finished second to Shaquille O’Neal in rookie of the year voting.

In the 1994–95 season, Zo and teammate Larry Johnson led the Hornets to a 50-win season and reached the playoffs. Zo ranked first on the team in scoring (21.3 per game), rebounding (9.9 per game), blocked shots (2.92 per game), and field goal percentage (.519), and played in the 1995 NBA All-Star Game where he scored 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.

On November 3, 1995, after Mourning rejected Charlotte’s contract extension, the Hornets traded him to the Miami Heat.
Mourning would immediately serve as the centerpiece of the Pat Riley-coached Heat, and in his first season in Miami he averaged 23.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game as Miami made the playoffs before being swept in the first round by the 72-win Bulls. Mourning played in the 1996 NBA All-Star Game.

In July 1996, Mourning signed a seven-year contract with the Heat. In the 1996–97 season, the Heat would go on to win a then franchise-record 61 games, finishing second in the Eastern Conference behind the defending champions Bulls, while Mourning averaged 19.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. In the playoffs, Miami defeated the Orlando Magic in five games, and advanced to the conference semifinals against the Knicks. Mourning scored 28 points in Game 6, followed by a 22-point, 12-rebound performance in Game 7 to help Miami advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, a franchise first, to face Chicago. The Bulls took a 3–0 series lead, and Mourning guaranteed a victory in Game 4 as the Heat won 87–80. However, in Game 5 the Heat were eliminated by the Bulls.

Mourning signed a four-year deal with the New Jersey Nets in July 2003 as a free agent. On November 24, 2003, Mourning retired from the NBA due to complications from kidney disease.

On November 25, 2003, Mourning’s cousin and a retired U. S. Marine, Jason Cooper, was visiting Mourning’s gravely ill grandmother in the hospital. Mourning’s father was present and informed Cooper that Zo was retiring that day from the NBA because of a life-threatening kidney disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, the same problem that Sean Elliott had in 1999. Cooper asked if there was anything he could do, and began to contemplate donating one of his kidneys to his estranged cousin, whom he had not seen in 25 years and whom he only knew through basketball. Cooper was tested for compatibility, along with many other family members and friends (including fellow NBA center and good friend Patrick Ewing); during his grandmother’s funeral, Mourning received the news that Jason Cooper was a match. Mourning underwent a successful kidney transplant receiving Cooper’s left kidney on December 19, 2003.

In 2004, he started practicing with the Nets again, and made the team’s regular season roster during the 2004–05 season.

He did not play a significant role with the Nets and openly complained to the media that he wanted out of New Jersey, especially after the team traded away Kenyon Martin. Mourning was traded to the Toronto Raptors on December 17, 2004.] Mourning never reported to the Raptors, and was bought out of his contract on February 11, 2005. Raptors team officials later said that he did not meet the medical conditions to play for the team. Mourning then finished the season with the Heat being paid a second salary, the veteran’s minimum.

Zo’s tenacity on defense twice earned him NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and perennially placed him on the NBA All-Defensive Team. Mourning made a comeback and later won the 2006 NBA championship with the Heat.

Mourning announced his retirement from the NBA on January 22, 2009. In his press conference he said, “At 38 I feel like I’ve physically done all I can for this game. One month later, the Heat announced that they would retire Mourning’s number 33 jersey, making him the first Heat player to be so honored. The jersey retirement ceremony occurred on March 30, 2009, when the Heat hosted the Orlando Magic. During the extended halftime ceremony, Mourning was introduced by Florida Governor Charlie Crist; former Georgetown University basketball coach John Thompson; Basketball Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing; Heat players Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem; and Heat head coach Pat Riley.

Since June 2009, Mourning has served as VP of Player Programs and Development for the Heat which covers community outreach and mentoring young players.
In May 2009, he was named to the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame, which honors athletes, coaches and administrators who contributed to sports in southeastern Virginia. In 2010, Mourning was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of his outstanding high school, collegiate, and professional career as well as his commitment to volunteer service in the communities in which he has lived and worked throughout his life. In August 2014, Mourning was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and in August 2019 he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.

In 1997, Mourning established Alonzo Mourning Charities Inc. to aid in the development of children and families living in at-risk situations and provides support and services that enhance the lives of youth of promise.