- Mourning played for the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets and New Jersey Nets
- Bill Walton and OJ Simpson both recently passed away after battles with prostate cancer
- READ MORE: Dave Portnoy reports $7.5 million profit as Celtics, Oilers win in finals
NBA Hall of Fame center Alonzo Mourning is cancer-free after undergoing surgery to remove his prostate in March after being diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.
Mourning, 54, told ESPN on Monday that the cancer had not spread, and he was told about it two months ago during a routine prostate screening, which showed 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 who feel great and who have cancer inside them, but they don’t know it,” Mourning said.
‘The only way to find out is to have their blood tested and their PSA (prostate specific antigen) checked. There are 3.3 million men living in the US with prostate cancer, and many don’t even know it. I was one of those guys.”
Bill Walton and OJ Simpson recently passed away after battles with prostate cancer.
On Monday, former NBA center Alonzo Mourning revealed he was cancer-free for the first time since his prostate diagnosis in March
Mourning (right) won an NBA championship with the Heat in ’06 with Shaquille O’Neal (left)
Mourning, director of player program and development for the Miami Heat since his retirement in 2008, was a seven-time All-Star and NBA champion with Shaquille O’Neal.
He is also an Olympic gold medalist during 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 due to kidney disease and underwent a kidney transplant in 2003.
‘I was in shock. I can’t tell you enough about how good my body felt.
“I was in great shape – sprint running, strong,” Mourning said of his prostate cancer diagnosis.
Last year, Mourning saw the Heat defeat the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals
‘…Prostate and even colon cancer are silent killers, and many men will not be diagnosed until it is too late.’
Mourning finished his career with 14,311 points, an average of 17.5 with 8.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 838 games (686 starts).
He was the second 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.