'I never played with a big man that blocks shots like he did' - Hardaway shares what made Zo special

Having a shot-blocker down low to cover your defensive lapses is a guard's ultimate fantasy. Tim Hardaway had that in multiple seasons with the Miami Heat because of Alonzo Mourning. For "Tim Bug," Zo was a gifted shot blocker who erased attempts like no one he had seen before.

"Playing with Alonzo Mourning, it was absolutely great, man," Hardaway said on "The Mark Jackson Show." "I never played with a big man that could block shots like he blocked shots. Oh my God! He's timing shots perfectly, kept it in bounds, we gone, we doing this. And you know, running offense through him, things like that. It was just great to have him."

As any NBA fan would know, the Georgetown product is among the most gifted shot-blockers to step foot in the Association. Alonzo is one of 14 players who led the league in swats for multiple seasons since the league started officially recording it as an official stat in 1973. Mourning is currently 11th all-time in total blocked shots.

A shot blocker's mentality

The five-time All-Star noted Zo's incredible timing when looking to erase shots, but it took more than that to be that good of a stopper. Mourning spoke about his shot-blocking mentality back in 2014 at his Hall of Fame induction and shared some interesting thoughts.

"I get after the ball when it was in reach, and God gave me the physical ability, and the rest was history," said the seven-time All-Star. "I just went after every shot that I could. You got the best shot-blocker in the world in Hakeem Olajuwon here, so he could probably give you more of an insight than I will, but mine is, you got to wanna pursue it."

More often than not, the 1992 second-overall pick got to the orange leather when he decided to pursue it. While Alozno is outside the top 10 in total blocks, he is number six all-time in blocks per game, just behind a handful of notable names.

Heat culture OG

Miami got its NBA franchise in 1988. As an expansion team, it was expected to dwell in the cellar, which it had done for many years. That changed when Pat Riley took over coaching duties in 1995, the same year the franchise brought in Mourning from Charlotte and Hardaway from Golden State midway through the season.

After a feeling-out season where they got eliminated by the Bulls in the 1996 playoffs, the Heat earned the second seed in 1997 with 61 wins.

"Voshon (Leonard), Dan (Majerle), Zo, PJ (Brown), Ike (Austin), and a lot of the other guys on the team, we had a bond. When we came there at the gym, it was us against everybody. We felt it, and we went out there and played like that… When they're talking about Heat culture, it started in '95, '96. And it was real," the 2022 Hall of Fame inductee continued.

In five games, the Heat lost to the Bulls (again) in the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals. Hardaway maintains they could have won against the defending champions had they stuck with their game plan of spamming the pick-and-roll. Still, the culture established by the group led by Zo and Tim has lived on for years. In the eyes of many, that's as good as a championship itself.