why alonzo mourning can not compare to shaq,olajuwon........?

Question

shaq,olajuwon,ewing,robinson, 4 dominant centres in 80-90,
alonzo mourning was also a good centre before he got kidney disorder ,but it seems he never reached those 4 guy's level and popularity.

Answer 1

Alonzo Mourning was a very good player but he wasn't a great one. Great centers elevate their team's level of success. Shaq, Hakeem, and Robinson all have championship rings while Patrick has led his team to the NBA Finals. The farthest Zo got with a pretty talented Charlotter Hornets teams (that featured Larry Johnson and Kendall Gill) in the playoffs was to the second round. He later joined Pat Riley and Tim Hardaway in Miami where he would help lead them to the Eastern Conference Finals but sadly to say, that was the farthest he could take a team on his shoulders.


Shaquile O'Neal took 3 different NBA teams (Orlando, L.A. Lakers, & Miami) to the NBA Finals and won a title with 2 out of the 3 teams. Hakeem lead Houston to back to back championships. David Robinson was a dominant scoring center who also had 2 titles, just not back to back like Hakeem. Patrick Ewing led his team to the NBA Finals not just once but twice (1994 & 1999). Alonzo Mourning didn't get to play in the finals and win a championship until he joined Shaq & Wade in Miami. Zo played the role of a backup center to Shaq and Miami managed to win it all during the 2005-2006 season thanks to a great NBA Finals performance by Dwyane Wade. Mourning was a great defensive player but he wasn't a dominant offensive player like a Shaq, Hakeem, Ewing, or Robinson, which was probably why his teams didn't do as well in the playoffs. Zo was more of a complementary center who needed a more dominating offensive player to carry the team's offense.

Answer 2

Shaq, Olajuwon, and Robinson each won their rings in their prime as the main franchise player for their team. Ewing did not achieve that. Zo had his chances but Jordan and the Bulls were in his way each time. Same goes for Ewing except Ewing came close. Zo finally won his ring in 2006 backing up Shaq. His kidney disorder prevented him from playing at the top level.

Answer 3

olajuwon was a very healthy center and could easily wipe out any center in NBA.Even if he's defended with alonzo,the guy simply tortures anyone on the court.Ewing and robinson has those specialties.Shaq is one of the most dominant players in the NBA history so alonzo can not be as popular as those 4

Answer 4

Counter Point
Zo most definately is one of the great centers that should be mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned centers.
He didn't score quite as much as the others, he played for Rileys D-fense first teams, with the exception of Robinson, he is head and shoulders the best defender. Sure Shaq and Ewing blocked alot of shots, that was just from pure size, Zo plays half the minutes Shaq plays and gets double the blocks now.
Saying he couldn't elevate his team is utterly ridiculous, the team he played on in Charolette had absolutely to chemistry, did we forget the LJ & Zo problem? And he was still a very young player. He elevated the Heat with Hardaway very mightily. Hardaways bad knees, combined with the inept offensive pieces at the time & lets not forget Houston's lucky bounce in '99, damnit they lost to Jordan twice.
Zo is a center, saying he should have played PF is also a moronic statement, when you get out on the court the other team is going to match up with whatever big man can play him, he played next to PJ Brown who was damn near 7', C & PF are just labels.
Zo numbers compare well except for the scoring which is a result of the system he played in, he has a good shooting percentage. He wasn't as popular because because he really wouldnt explode for like 35-45 points very often, he wasn't dominating offensively, but defensively he was a game changer.
Zo is warrior, don't knock him.



To the dense and sightless idiocies of miteshdasal, I begin to wonder wether you've ever set foot away from your computer to enjoy the outdoors. Whether I've played orginized basketball is well outside of the scope of what is being discussed here. I am very uninterested in career totals here, considering Mr. Mourning played in an era when all the other Centers in this era were well in their prime both offensively & defensively, while Zo was still somewhat developing. mourning only had about 2-3 three years when he was truly in his prime,then of course there is the well known kidney thing, please don't give me tainted stats, that man would block shots not a single Center mentioned (maybe Mutombo) would have a chance of even getting close to without hacking someone.Didn't I say he was NOT a better defender than Robinson? Thank you for reiterating my point on scoring that was very observant of you, (give your self a pat on the back, yes you can be special as well!), however if you define rarely shot beyond 12 feet around once or twice a game then please stay off the can I bus, it tends to retard vision and motor skills, Mourning after his 4th or fifth season developed a nice jumper that was utilized considerably more often then (duh!) Shaq and Mutombo and very comparable to Ewing,Rob and the Dream, as did PJ (who shot it more often though than Zo). It is obvious and natural that Zo would be pushed around by the larger centers but a center he is non-the less, Miami ran two plays, pick & rolls and feed it to Zo, what you say may have some merit but a much bigger hurdle was Riley's insistence on 110% effort on defense and if we get a chance let's score (yes I'm exaggerating but not by much). Wow, another post player? How many teams enjoy the luxury the Spurs enjoyed w/ the Admiral & Duncan, in the history of the NBA. Mourning was double teamed with mixed success, as a human with two eyes, it was very easy to see that this was one of the main reasons the Miami Heat was always near the top in team 3 point percentage with Hardaway, Majrle (check spelling), Mashburn, even earlier w/ Askins / what was missing from that team was a perimeter player that could create his own shot and penetrate. Zo was not only in foul trouble against the best centers but any given game, and this was not just due to him getting bullied under the rim but because he didn't think there was a shot he couldn't block (not to mention Miami's notorious physical play) , it wasn't all the Big Boys doing, and that is why Riley had Isaac Austin and Dwayne Causwell playing with Zo for a few minutes a game to give Zo some relief, even at the 4 Zo would have had to play extensive one-on-one against those guys. Please send my condolenscence to the 7-8 team you coach, you guys must suck. You speak in general terms with no real insight, please stop mining for stats, oh of those All-NBA Defensive Teams (theyre not called all-star) how many were first team? Not that second team is a small feat, though.
Zo as PF,right, because Karl Malone, Dennis Rodman, Anthony Mason, Horace Grant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, etc(which by the way all covered Zo often).... would have let Zo score 35ppg, Zo is fairly athletic, but how much foot speed would he have given up as a PF?
I'm not saying he's better than these guys, but he's sure in the same class. And I hate what-ifs but how would those stats look if his kidney holds up and the Grant,Jones,Hardaway(with healthy knees),Mason had fullfilled their potential?

Answer 5

I considered Alonzo once as the only center tough enough to stand toe-to-toe against Shaq.

That Kidney disorder ruined Alonzo's reputation a bit because it sidelined him when he was getting to his prime thus the decline in fan support. But to those who witnessed the awesome power of his Alonzo Mourning could very much stand up against those centers.

Answer 6

Because of the championships rings (except for Ewing) they won during their prime.
Mourning eventually won one (1) but not considered as the one who makes the biggest contribution for their team championship trophy. He is the mere back-up of Shaq when Miami Heat won the 2006 NBA crown.
Shaq, Hakeem won rings and they are the Finals MVPs when their team won. David Robinson is the 2nd best Spurs when they won in 1999 and one of the main cast (in fact, the starting center)that won for the Spurs in 2003.
During Mourning prime, before he got kidney disorder, the highest his team got is to advance to Eastern Conference Finals in 1996-97 season but lose to eventual NBA champion, the Chicago Bulls.

Answer 7

Alonzo Mourning (Prime) > Dwight Howard Overall though, Dwight Howard is much better player.

Answer 8

I think he can also be put on the List but number 5.

1.Hakeem olajuwon
2.Shaq
3.David Robinson
4.ewing
5.alonzo mourning
6. Dikembe Mutombo(Some may disagree But I think so)

Answer 9

alonzo mourning is good player he have a championship ring.

Answer 10

The guy thanks God every day that he's still alive. Do you really think he's concerned about his popularity ? With his courage and determination, the real question is, "Why Shaq and those other guys can't compare with Zo."