So much respect for this guy. Never cared how many times he get posterized he just kept on going up and attempt to block your shot.

I met him 2 years ago in publix. He was on his cell phone and I waited for him to finish his call until I asked for a picture. He was really nice. Great guy. Loved watching him play as I grew up.

I miss the days of Battling Big Men. Nothing cooler than watching Hakeem and David Robinson or Shaq going at it.

You can’t even call these dudes “bigs” anymore, you gotta call em “talls”. Everybody wants to be a 2 guard now.

Zo was one of the smallest of the big men. Battled kidney disease while still playing. I remember him coming back to play and his skin was frigging yellow. True warrior, true love for the game.

The 90s was a great era for basketball

Alonzo is not wrong, he had a pretty good jumper, even though he didn't take a lot of 3s, but he would be just fine in today's era

Those guys back then were literally athletic Bodybuilders aka Oakley, Barkley, Zo, Shaq, LJ and even MJ

I'm not excited how the game is going. I can't even watch a full game anymore. Thank God for the 10 minute highlights on KZfaq

I remember Zo had a reliable 3 point shot. He got traded to Miami and Riley wasn't having none of that. Told him to stick to the paint. I'm a Knicks fan, but loved the Ewing/Zo battles. Those were great times.

He's the man. Alonzo Mourning was my favorite player when I started watching the NBA back in '97. I loved those Heat-Knicks battles back in the 90's. They were epic.

Alonzo Mourning is my GOAT and all time favorite player. I grew up idolizing him and played just like him. Not too many players played with the heart and passion as Zo did.

This man right here along with Bill Russell, Moses Malone & Ben Wallace paved the way for the under sized centers & they all were defensive beasts its crazy how dominant they would be in this Era although they're small forwards they're height now

Alonzo Mourning would be a MONSTER today!!!

Alonzo Mourning & Charles Oakely should be on the Philadelphia 76ers coaching staff.

My favorite defensive player all time. Big Zo!

One of my favourite players growing up in the 90s.

*BEN WALLACE* interview: Power Defense. Make it happen.

By watching these interviews i realized how much dirk changed the game.. As a heat fan I can only respect this guy so much.

Big men were literally "big" in the 90s ( Shaq, Malone, Hakeem, Ewing, Mourning, Robinson..) today they mostly tall and skinny

Alonzo in the 98-99 Season was almost Unstoppable

Always digged Zo's intensity on the court. This guy gave you all he had every night! He was the reason I became a Miami Heat fan.

ZO!!!!!... Good to hear from u big dogg!!

The game changed... don’t know if it’s for the better or worse... but it does irritate me when I see Embiid shooting 3’s... he’s too big to be shooting, put him in the paint & punish

He never played for any of my favorite teams either in college or the pro's, but he's one of my all-time favorite players. The man played with a passion and wasn't afraid to mix it up in the middle. Mourning was a warrior. There aren't many warriors left in the NBA.

Alonzo and Larry Johnson doesn’t get enough love as one of the best big man duo of all time

90's basketball era is the best.. lot of excitement & lots of good moves inside.. most savage

Alonzo Mourning one of my most favorite players ever!

This is a great little series. I can't wait for ESPN to do more like these.

Facts: Without Zo The 2000 Team USA wouldn’t have won Gold.

Why don’t anyone admit that the NBA changed the rules to implement the high scoring, perimeter based game we see today. They basically got rid of defense and physical play.

These are all great to watch 🔥🔥💯💯

Zo was ferocious....90s ballers man

I grew up watching zo doin his thing in the low post. And blocking shots he don't even care if he gets posterized by anybody. He's one the toughest big men in the league and a legend.

Alonzo mourning was the greatest defensive player I ever saw

my favorite player of all time

I always wondered why Zo is never doing interviews or coming in on as an analyst. He'd be great!

One of the goats. Never was on my team but always admired him and wish he was on my team. One word: Warrior. May God continue blessing you.

BIGS in this current generation don't want the pain that comes with banging in the paint. 😀😀😀

There was a time when I watched regular season games, not anymore, and watching playoffs isn't easy either, sick of everyone shooting threes.

Alonzo was a beast back in the day. Defensive animal. Respect.

One of my absolute all time favorites. I love that he winced at the now or then question

Respectable words from The man Big ZO himself 💯💥🏀

Zo was dynamite back n the day one of my favourite’s

😳 those were the days , big men all battling Each other and don’t dare come to basket. Ewing, Smits, Mourning,Robinson.,Olajuwon,Shaq just to name a few. Those were real NBA Centers ..

I remember watching Zo try out for the Olympic team in the summer of ‘88 after graduating from high school that year!!! He held his own too & I was rooting for him. I knew he was gonna be a special player in college & the pros.

I used to have a picture on my wall of him blocking Antonio McDyess on a dunk attempt. It was one of my favorite images. This is when McDyess had 2 healthy knees and a 48 inch vertical. The man had no fear.

One word sums up Alonzo Mourning - BEAST!!

peace; One of the best big man ever. Salute Mo!! VA standup

what a great center, what a great fighter

Agreed and to add,zo was very exciting to watch

Mr. Mourning was that dude you didn't wanna get hammer by because he do it regardless when you drove to the basket. Undersized at center but solid fundamentals, athleticism, not to mention muscles on every inch of his 6-10 frame to be one of the most intimidating giants of the 90's era. I was 9 when i got introduced to basketball and Alonzo became my favorite player growing up. I'm happy he got his championship ring because he literally worked hard every day, even when he was forced to retired from the game in early 2000's.

This man was a warrior, under sized center and yet could hold up against any 7 footers. His career would have been even more impressive had it not been his illness.

I felt before ZO had the kidney problem he was on the verge of becoming the number 1 big man in the league! Shaq couldn’t shoot D Robinson wasn’t as tough as him and the other great ones The Dream, Pat Ewing were on there way out. ZO could do it all and right at that time was becoming a better shooter from mid range. As a Knick fan I say this he was legit

Spurs fan here Mad respect to Zo

I was born in 1983 and am fortunate to have grown up during the golden age of NBA basketball. I used to subscribe to SLAM magazine, and during middle school the walls in my bedroom were covered with posters of everyone from Mourning and Ewing to Iverson and Bryant. While the flashy players were fun to watch, what appealed to me most about the game was the chess matches in the paint and the overall physicality of the game (my all-time favorite team is the Detroit Pistons, namely the Bad Boy era squad). What's more, there were so many big personalities in the game; even mid-level guys like Bill Laimbeer and Charles Oakley had larger-than-life personas and made the game a blast to watch. Gary Payton's trash talking was hilarious, and watching Michael Jordan get inside the heads of his opponents was classic psychological warfare. And then there was Charles Barkeyl....god, I love that guy. I miss that time in my life, I really do. Overall, I'm still a fan of the game but can't deny it's just not as fun anymore. There's an inescapable blandness to it, and I feel like too many players are more concerned with their social media presence and endorsement deals than actually having a personality.

Zo is another one of my favorite players of all times. Loved his physicality, and he's right the 90's to me also was the best and exciting times in the NBA. Now if the players decided to combine both era's it would be even better. Big men need to dominate downlow!!!.

I loved Zo as a player. Tenacious

Zo, you were always one of my favourite players. I just loved the way you guys played during the nineties/early 00’s. I can’t watch today’s NBA because of the lack of defense and the softness of those gucci wearing players. Ratings have never been this bad. NBA lacks character.

Alonzo was great player amazing talent

I always love to see big guys, PFs and Cs battling it inside the paint...from a powerful dunk to a subtle but efficient low post moves. Seeing 7ftrs shoot 3s, I'm still kinda getting used to it.

Old school is the best

I will never forget the young potential that the Charlotte Hornets had with Zo, grandmama, Rex Chapman, and Muggsy Bogues. Unfortunately it never panned out. Contract disputes broke the team up. Larry had a back injury so his numbers declined. Zo was really the only one that developed into superstar status. Still though I can remember playing with them on NBA Jam and thinking that in a few years nobody will be able to beat this team. It reminds me of some of the other "bests that never happened" such as the Warriors with C Webb, Mullen, spreewell, and Hardaway.

Alonzo Morning was the original black superman.......Imagine guarding this guy Prime Shaq and Wade. They gotta ring that year.

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE NBA PLAYER!!!! BIG ZO!!!!!

Bill Lamibeer was the first 5 that I saw who shot 3’s regularly, they won back to back championships playing that way...pulling the opposing 5 out of the paint

Alonzo vs Rodman was epic

Big Up Zo 90s forever 💪🏾

I use his realization gif all the time!!!

ZO ... I love this guy!

Grew up watching classic hardwood and I really miss those types of bigs but I get it because of how the game changed but what really upsetting and disappointing are players that cared more about their reputation not getting dunked on or ankles getting broken so they just give up and not challenge the offensive player.

Zo is the epitome of tough as nails big man back in the day. There's not a player like him in the NBA anymore..

If your not aware of how good this guy was , check out his highlights. Came to play every night , never quite.

Great interview with ‘zo....

"The way games are called nowadays would Limite me on my aggressiveness on my opponents" lol yep, league gone soft.

Solid arguments.

0:42 The camera moves following the ball!

My favorite growing up in Michigan was Ben wallace. Might not have been the most dominant scorer but he was a beast defensively

Look at the wing span of zo.. tremendous length no doubt for a shot blocker!

A lot of people forget, aside from Shaq most of the great bigs from the 90s actually had pretty capable jump shots. Ewing was known as one of the best jumpshooting bigs of his era. Hakeem and Robinson were both excellent shooters from midrange. Mourning could make the mid-range jumper. Duncan and KG both were excellent jumpshooters. People speak as of those guys couldnt exist today because they didnt shoot threes - but they were all capable jump shooters who COULD have made the three if they were encouraged to take it, they just weren't. In those days it was frowned upon for big men to shoot threes because the whole idea was do take advantage of your size and power advantage, and the best place to do that is in the paint. The main reason for having that midrange jumper was that guys couldn't just clog the lane -if they gave you too much distance you could make the 17 footer. I agree with a lot of these "old school" players. Just because big men can make an open three, doesn't mean they should besp[ending 70% of their time standing out on the perimeter. People believe todays style has made the traditional big man useless, but the opposite is true. With teams going smaller almost across the board, the next truly skilled and dominate big man who stands his ground and plays in the post will average 30, becuase none of these 6'8" centers on today's teams will be able to guard him. Teams will need to throw double and tirple teams at him, and that will just lead to open jumpers for teammates. The once 2 or 3 of thos guys come along and start dominating everybody, the league will realise that having undersized bigs isnt going to work, and people will start looking for proper big men who can guard these dominant forces. And then before you know it every team out there is going to be looking for physical 7 footers with post skills.

From Indian River High school in Portsmouth Va

legend top 10

LEGEND!

Zo talking FACTS here

When I played in the 90’s/early 2000’s I was an undersized forward (6’3”). I lifted weights religiously and had great endurance from jogging. My game was influenced by: Moses Malone, Karl Malone, Charles Oakley, Charles Barkley, Dennis Rodman and Hakeem. I never shot threes till later, but had a reliable midrange. I loved shutting down the bigger guys and tearing down 20 + rebounds in traffic. Nothing fancy, jump hooks in the paint and baseline fades. Kids are soft now and I’d control the game with 40+ rebounds and getting everyone in foul trouble down low.

OG 🐐

first big guy i recal hitting the 3 was Robert Horry. I know he played small forward but he was 6'10. still a big guy

My idol Zo!yeah!if youre a center and 7ft behemoth you should be inside the paint banging,blocking,doing everything to defend that paint!not shooting f@ck 3s..and Zo is just 6,10.whew!

I think the amount of physicality late 90's to early 2000's was the best balance between fluidity of offense and pressure defense. The game is so soft and unexciting now. Just a shoot out with no defense now.

Love Zo. Man was a beast. But every one of these guys being interviewed for the decline of the big man has mentioned Dirk. Dirk actually changed the NBA. Not many players can say they did that.

The centers today who have a low post game but can also hit it from the outside are harder to defend than the traditional centers of old who only rely on their inside game. That we actually have these stretch fives today is actually an improvement of how basketball is played. It's all good

Thank you 33 Farve, Mourning, and Griffey

So much respect for this guy, he should have played in the NBA he knows so much...

Miss the 70's when there was a lot of dominating big men, like Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Willis Reed, Bob Lanier, Nate Thurmond, Bob Mc Aado, Dave Cowens, Elvin Hayes, Bill Walton, Artis Gilmore, Spencer Haywood, Moses Malone and Wes Unseld at 6'7" plays much bigger than his size. From 1970 to 1995 the only team to win the league title with a center Cliff Ray that had not played in any All Star game was Golden State in 1975.

Larry Bird was one of the pioneer for big man shooting three pointers. I think he was 6’9” or 7 foot, he wasn’t a big dude that dominated in the paint, but he had buckets. When Dirk got drafted in the 90s, I remember a lot sport analysis or commentators saying Dirk is going to be the next Larry Bird. Dirk had the size of a big man, but he was more three pointers and perimeter shots.

97 Bulls vs Heat...good stuff back then. Alonzo was definitely a true enforcer and the last of a breed.

Don’t blame the decline of big men on millennials blame it on the execs who draft stretch 4 and slot them at center

Him saying guys out there shooting 3's who are not 3 point shooters, is something I've said for yeats. If you can shoot it at a high clip 38% plus. Like a dirk. Laimbeer to an extent. Then ok. But shooting just to shoot as how it seems the bigs are right now. Nah, that's not it. Crazy to think, zo was maybe the 5th best center in his time..he would be by far the best in this era. He would have been much better than dwight. If dwight played in the 90's at best he would've been the 6th best. Guys don't even shoot the midrange which is crazy.

Speed, pace and high octane defense are the hallmarks of the modern NBA. But I’d always appreciated the toughness and roughness of the era of Big Men. Nothing beats NBA in the 80’s and 90’s.

My top defender Alonzo n big Ben my top too