Basketball Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning revealed Monday that he recently underwent surgery to remove his prostate after being diagnosed with cancer.
Mourning discussed his condition with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer and in March underwent a procedure to remove his prostate. He said tests showed the cancer did not spread beyond his prostate capsule and he is now cancer-free.
In his interview with Wojnarowski, Mourning advocated that high-risk men over the age of 45 undergo regular PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood tests to check for cancer.
“What scares me about this disease is that there are so many men walking around who feel great and have cancer inside them, but they don’t know it,” Mourning said. “The only way to find out is to get their blood tested and their PSA checked. There are 3.3 million men in the US with prostate cancer, and many don’t even know it. I was one of those guys. “
According to the American Cancer Society, the risk of prostate cancer increases with age. It is “rare” for men under age 40 to have prostate cancer, but the chance of developing the disease “rises rapidly” after age 50. According to the ACS, approximately six in 10 prostate cancer diagnoses occur in men over age 65.
Men with a family history of prostate cancer, African American men and Caribbean men of African descent are at greater risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to the ACS. Mourning’s father and grandfather both had prostate cancer.
Mourning, 54, told ESPN that he felt like he was in “great shape” before his diagnosis and that he only learned of his cancer through testing. In 2022, his urologist flagged his PSA levels as “rising,” prompting an MRI that led to a biopsy that revealed his diagnosis.
“I was in shock,” Mourning said. “I can’t tell you enough about how good my body felt. I was in great shape – running sprints, strong.”
Mourning said he has been recovering since the March procedure and returning to his normal life. Mourning is a 15-season NBA veteran as a player and has worked in the Miami Heat front office since his retirement in 2008.
“Life was good and wonderful for me, but if I had ignored control and let it go, the cancer would have spread throughout my body,” Mourning said. “Unfortunately, as men we don’t like going to the doctor, but this is the only way to find out what is going on in your body. Prostate and even colon cancer are silent killers, and many men will not get it diagnosed. until it’s too late.”
Mourning joined the NBA as the second pick of the 1992 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets after the Orlando Magic selected Shaquille O’Neal first overall. He helped the Hornets to the franchise’s first-ever playoff appearance and series victory as a rookie. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to O’Neal.
After three seasons, including two All-Star campaigns in Charlotte, he joined the Miami Heat, where he played 11 seasons over two stints. He won an NBA championship with the Heat alongside O’Neal and Dwayne Wade in 2006. A seven-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mourning was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
