- Mourning played for the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets and New Jersey Nets
- Bill Walton, O.J. Simpson both recently died after battles with prostate cancer
- READ MORE: Dave Portnoy reveals $7.5M profit if Celtics and Oilers win in Finals
NBA Hall of Fame center Alonzo Mourning is cancer free after undergoing surgery to have his prostate removed in March following a diagnosis of stage 3 cancer.
Mourning, 54, told ESPN on Monday the cancer did not spread, and he was informed about it two months ago during a routine prostate screening, which showed that he had a Gleason score of 8 – a high grade of prostate cancer.
‘What scares me about this disease is that there are so many men walking around feeling great and have that cancer in them and they don’t know it,’ Mourning said.
‘The only way to find out is to get their blood tested and get their PSA (prostate-specific antigen) checked. There are 3.3 million men living in the U.S. with prostate cancer, and many don’t even know it. I was one of those guys.’
Bill Walton and O.J. Simpson both recently died after battles with prostate cancer.
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Mourning, director of player program and development for the Miami Heat since retiring in 2008, was a seven-time All-Star and NBA champion with Shaquille O’Neal.
He is also an Olympic gold medalist over 15 seasons in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets (1992-95), Heat (1995-2002; 2004-08) and New Jersey Nets (2003-04).
He missed the 2002-03 season with kidney disease and underwent a kidney transplant in 2003.
‘I was in shock. I can’t tell you enough about how well my body felt.
‘I was in top-notch shape – running sprint, strong,’ Mourning said of his prostate cancer diagnosis.
‘… Prostate and even colon cancer are silent killers, and many men won’t get those diagnosis until it’s too late.’
Mourning finished his career with 14,311 points, averaging 17.5 with 8.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 838 games (686 starts).
The No. 2 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft out of Georgetown and a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
In 2023, Mourning presented the Larry Bird Trophy to Jimmy Butler after the Heat won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden.