#31 - Alonzo Mourning
His being here definitely cements the idea I had formulated earlier. I am now confident that certain individuals were either consciously or subconsciously put so close together by design. In this case, Larry Johnson's inclusion reminded me that Zo couldn't be far behind. There could be an argument that he should possibly be higher, but given the talent still ahead of him, he's listed right where he should be.
My earliest memory of Zo also goes back to his college days. He came thru the Georgetown Hoya ranks back when they were feared throughout not only the Big East but also the country. In more ways than one. It wasn't enough that they could beat down opponents on both ends of the court. They also had a penchant to get a little scrappy as far as resorting to throwing 'bows if they had to. That's why it shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone that Zo was like that in the NBA also.
Zo was one of the last true big men to enter the NBA. The next generation of young stars after him were all concerned with being able to play every spot on the floor no matter what size they were. There was no appreciation for the beauty of a pure center. That's what Zo brought to the game. He was able to be an offensive force in the post as well as a defensive terror. We saw it during his time with the Hornets and especially with the Heat where he was a 2-time Defensive Player of the year in 1999 and 2000.
It appeared as though Zo's career was going to come to somewhat of an early end when he retired in 2003 due to complications from his kidney disease. However, a successful kidney transplant gave him a second life in the NBA. His short stint with the New Jersey Nets was pretty uneventful, but when he signed with the Heat again in 2005, he was almost like the old Zo. Even if his role was relegated to a reserve he was a much needed sparkplug and it was good to finally see him get that ring.
#30 - Dennis Rodman
This is the only spot on the list where you will see a role player showing up. But what a role player he was. Rodman took that term and practically reformed it into "specialist". He was able to find his niche in the League and work the angle better than any player in the modern era. He was practically living proof of the motto that defense wins championships.
Of course there were other players that specialized in being defensive stoppers. I've already mentioned Artest and Bruce Bowen is also worth noting. The difference is they were both a little more versatile. Both of them were legitimate offensive weapons as well. Rodman didn't worry so much about his offensive game because he wanted his defense to shine. When he was on a Detroit Piston squad full with so many offensive threats, he had the luxury to do that. It apparently paid off since it earned him the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in both 1990 and 1991.
Rodman found a way to compensate for being an offensive liability: his rebounding. He had a knack for knowing just where the ball would be once it came off the rim. He may not have been able to create his own shot, but he could constantly get the boards for someone else to get theirs. It helped him extend his stay in the NBA to constant contenders like the San Antonio Spurs and then eventually the Chicago Bulls. It's also the reason why he holds the NBA record for league rebounding leader seven consecutive years.
The older The Worm got, the more he decided to get further and further out there. He was constantly trying to outdo himself with more outrageous stunts which caused teams to shy away from him. Were it not for Jordan and Phil Jackson, Rodman's career may have ended even sooner since no other personalities had what it took to manage him. However, Jordan needed Rodman just as much as Rodman needed him. Okay...maybe not quite as much as Rodman needed him. Mike surely would have gotten titles anyway with another player in Rdoman's spot. But don't get it twisted...Rodman sure made it a little easier for Mike to get his.




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