Alonzo Mourning won two consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards during his 11 seasons with the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat are one of the younger franchises in the NBA, but they have had a number of NBA legends suit up in South Beach throughout their 37-year history in the league. This list highlights the one player who has won a Defensive Player of the Year award while playing for the Heat, Alonzo Mourning, who accomplished this in back-to-back seasons
Alonzo Mourning – 1999, 2000
The second overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Hornets, Alonzo Mourning played three seasons in Charlotte before making his way to the Miami Heat in 1995. From there, Zo spent 11 total years in South Beach, putting together an incredible resume that earned him a Hall of Fame induction in 2014. He’s a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, two-time block champion, seven-time All-Star, and a two-time All-NBA (one First) and All-Defensive (two First) selection.
Even though Mourning averaged more than 21.0 points per game while shooting better than 50% from the field in each of his first three campaigns with the Hornets, his time with the Heat is considered perhaps the most productive of his 15-year career. In his debut with Miami in 1995-96, the Chesapeake, Virginia native poured in a career-best 23.2 ppg to go along with 10.4 rebounds (second-best), 1.0 steals (best) and 2.7 blocks while leading the league in free-throw attempts (10.2).
In 1998-99, Mourning grabbed his first DPOY trophy by posting 20.1 ppg, a career-best 11.0 rpg, and a league-leading 3.9 bpg, which is also the best mark of his career. He registered a 93.0 defensive rating that season, meaning opposing teams scored an estimated 93 points per 100 possessions with Zo on the court that season. Mourning was named to his first and only All-NBA First Team, made the All-Defensive First Team, and finished second behind Karl Malone in the MVP race.
The following season, Mourning appeared in the most regular season games (79) in his 15-year tenure to take home back-to-back DPOY honors. He finished third in MVP voting, made his fifth All-Star team, the second consecutive All-Defensive First Team, and was an All-NBA Second Team selection after averaging 21.7 ppg and 9.5 rpg while leading the league in blocked shots (3.7 bpg) for the second straight year. Mourning helped Miami win their first-ever NBA championship in 2006, when he recorded 7.8 ppg and 2.7 bpg in his age-35 season.
