Heat #33 retired, i'm crying watching this

[diddy]

phpBB [video]

one of the greatest centers of all-time earns it, i'm simply happy, and this event made me cry for real!

[NovU]

What a great career he had and what a great inspiration he is to many fans. Not only Kidney transplant didn't stop him from coming back but also contributed much to the Heat to be the champion. More than that, he always gave his best on court.

Thank you management, he deserves it.

[shadowgrin]

A great center indeed. To add more to Joel Anthony's destined greatness, he could learn a thing or two from Zo.

[diddy]

Shadow, thanks for not being sarcastic!

[Fresh8]

A honour well deserved.

[T-Time3]

Zo,

[Matthew]

I could write a book on how much I admire Alonzo. He, David Robinson and Jordan defined the NBA in terms of character in the 90's, and what he did in 2006 in the finals was just as remarkable as Wades performance.

[diddy]

a totally agree with you! he is heard and sould of Miami Heat for life

[shadowgrin]

Heart and Soul, Diddy.

[Matthew]

Stop being an EGarret damnit.

[shadowgrin]

Only trying to help. I would let go if he somehow accidentally pressed other keys near the T, but the D is a bit far for him to have pressed accidentally, and to do it twice with two different words. Unless Diddy has fat fingers or the key configuration of a Russian keyboard is different, or Diddy is dyslexic like Tom Cruise.

[Matthew]

Maybe he was thinking about big breasts when he typed it?

[diddy]

no, i made a mistake it that word, are you both happy?

[homicide1550]

One of the best centers of all time right there... I was so happy when Zo finally got his ring in 2006... He really deserves this honor!

P.S. That is one big banner!

[diddy]

yeah, i was very happy for Zo in the first place, then Wade and Glove

[Modifly]

Cheers, Zo definitely deserve this. A true warrior who never give up in life, an admirable and respectable person and a great example for the youngs.

[puttincomputers]

Zo was one of heroes in the old days. He was a great guy on and off the court.

[Andrew]

A well deserved honour to say the very least. I remember there being some discussion about whether it would be appropriate to retire his jersey around about the time he left the Heat for the Nets and there was one sportswriter (I forget who) that seemed staunchly against it, arguing that while he had been a big part of the franchise for a number of years, they had not yielded a title and as such he didn't qualify for such an honour.

Obviously circumstances have changed as he was a notable contributor to the Heat's championship in 2006 but even at the time that struck me as too harsh a criteria. There are several reasons why retiring a jersey might be appropriate (sometimes tragic, as is the case with Bobby Phills and Malik Sealy) but to me the underlining criteria - if you want to call it that - would be that the player was significant to, perhaps even synonymous with, the team retiring his jersey number. Alonzo Mourning became just that to the Heat when they traded for him in 1995, he became the face of the franchise as they entered - to that point - their most successful era. He earned that honour long before they won the 2006 championship but if nothing else that solidified it, regardless of him not being the focal player on that team.

Some people are probably always going to remember the situation with the Nets and the Raptors and define his character by what happened there and that's understandable, people do get defensive about their favourite teams and on the surface it probably wasn't his finest moment as a professional. However, at the end of the day I think he's judged far too harshly for it and there are plenty of other times that show the nobility, selflessness and caring nature of his personality. In my opinion he's done too much good on and off the court to have his character and career smudged by one incident that was hardly unprecedented in the world of pro sports.

Anyway, congrats to Zo.

[benji]

here was one sportswriter (I forget who) that seemed staunchly against it, arguing that while he had been a big part of the franchise for a number of years, they had not yielded a title and as such he didn't qualify for such an honour.

Was he aware that the Heat retired Jordan's jersey with that godawful half Heat/half Wizards (I think, it was ugly no matter what the teams) jersey? Despite never playing for the team?

At least Marino's career took place in Miami. Even if that was just as stupid.

[Matthew]

here was one sportswriter (I forget who) that seemed staunchly against it, arguing that while he had been a big part of the franchise for a number of years, they had not yielded a title and as such he didn't qualify for such an honour.

Was he aware that the Heat retired Jordan's jersey with that godawful half Heat/half Wizards (I think, it was ugly no matter what the teams) jersey? Despite never playing for the team?

At least Marino's career took place in Miami. Even if that was just as stupid.

Half Bulls, half wizards.

[Andrew]

Was he aware that the Heat retired Jordan's jersey with that godawful half Heat/half Wizards (I think, it was ugly no matter what the teams) jersey? Despite never playing for the team?

Possibly. It might have been written prior to that happening, it was around that time but it might have been before they retired #23.

[Matthew]

Jordan's jersey was retired before Alonzo went to New Jersey, if memory serves me correctly

[benji]

It does. Zo missed that entire season and then left for the Nets.

Zo probably would've won a good number of titles if he had slotted in next to another great big man like Duncan did and been able to spend a good amount of his career at forward. (If Charlotte had taken Mutombo the year before, ouch. That would've been a brutal defense even with the rest of the sieves they had.)

And Riley had stopped messing with the roster every three months. (And they never faced the Knicks. And Jordan hadn't unretired. They run into the juggernaut that first good season, and then they lose back to back to the Knicks in the first round. By then they were on the wrong side of their window and Riley kept trying to plug the dike with aging players well past their prime which killed their offense.)

[Andrew]

It was around that time, possibly shortly before, possibly shortly after. In any case I don't remember him mentioning the fact they retired #23 in honour of Michael Jordan but he might have put that aside as special circumstances and simply been focusing on the traditional "criteria". In any case, I disagreed with the sentiment at the time and I'd disagree with it now, so I'm glad to see Zo honoured in that way.

[diddy]

Zo deserved it, and i will cry even more when #3 will take place next to Zo's jersey! OMG!