Alonzo Mourning played 11 seasons with the Heat, finding himself on this list 4 times.
The Miami Heat have a history of great centers playing for their franchise. One of them has dominated their record books in terms of blocks per game. Let’s highlight their top five leaders in blocks per game for a single season.
Note that blocks became an official NBA stat in 1973-74.
Alonzo Mourning, 1999, 3.9 BPG
Mourning spent the first three seasons of his career with the Hornets. He made two All-Star teams with them and averaged at least 2.9 blocks per game in all three seasons. In his rookie season, he averaged 3.5 blocks per game. He was then traded to the Heat, where he continued to provide impressive blocks production. In 1998-99, he led the league by averaging 3.9 blocks. That season, he also averaged 20.1 points and 11.0 rebounds. He won the Defensive Player of the Year award and came in second in MVP voting.
Alonzo Mourning, 2000, 3.7 BPG
Mourning led the league in blocks per game again in 1999-2000. In addition to his 3.7 blocks per game, he averaged 21.7 points and 9.5 rebounds. He was once again named the Defensive Player of the Year and finished third in MVP voting.
Hassan Whiteside, 2016, 3.7 BPG
Whiteside was originally drafted by the Kings, with whom he only played two seasons to begin his career. After not appearing in the NBA for two seasons, he then joined the Heat for the 2014-15 campaign. Despite only averaging 24 minutes per game that season, he averaged 2.6 blocks. He then logged 29 minutes per game in 2015-16, which he turned into averages of 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks. He led the league in blocks per game, made All-Defensive Second Team and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Whiteside eventually played five total seasons with the Heat before rounding out his career with the Trail Blazers, Kings and Jazz. Over 324 regular season games with the Heat, he averaged 14.1 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.
Alonzo Mourning, 1997, 2.9 BPG
Mourning played in 66 games and averaged 35 minutes during the 1996-97 season. He made the All-Star team and averaged 19.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. It marked the fifth straight season in which he averaged 2.7 blocks. It was also his fourth career All-Star team.
Alonzo Mourning, 1996, 2.7 BPG
The 1995-96 season was Mourning’s first with the Heat. He appeared in 70 games and averaged 38 minutes. That helped him average 23.2 points, which would end up being the highest mark of his career. He also averaged 10.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. Mourning spent seven seasons with the Heat before joining the Nets. He then finished his career by playing a second stint with the Heat. Over 593 regular season games with the Heat, he averaged 16.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. Across 82 playoff games, he averaged 12.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. He was part of the 2005-06 Heat team that won the NBA championship.
