Draymond Green and Jordan Poole became the talk of the NBA world after it was reported that Green punched Poole during a Golden State Warriors practice earlier this week.
While it seems like teammates sometimes go at it during practice, this altercation went a little too far.
In light of the incident between Green and Poole, former NBA big man Kenyon Martin recently opened up about the time he got into it with Miami Heat legend Alonzo Mourning while the two played together on the New Jersey Nets.
It seems like Martin got annoyed that Mourning got mad that he and Richard Jefferson were having fun on the sidelines during a drill. Martin then blurted out a pretty wild comeback.
NBA practice altercations are common place.
Kenyon Martin told me about the time he & Alonzo Mourning got into an argument.
Mourning to Martin: “You can’t be a leader in the trainer’s room crying, ‘My ankle, my ankle.”
Martin to Mourning: “My kidney, my kidney.” pic.twitter.com/4SpOuwii1d
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) October 8, 2022
“My exact words was, ‘You need to worry about your motherf—— kidney before worrying about me.’ He didn’t like that too much.” Martin recalled during an interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson.
Of course, as many know, Mourning was diagnosed with a serious kidney disease shortly after winning a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
He only played in 13 games during the 2000-01 season, but returned to play 75 contests during the 2001-02 campaign. It was then announced that he had suffered a setback and would need to miss the entire 2002-03 season.
Without Mourning, Miami struggled mightily on its way to a 25-57 record that season. However, that enabled it to receive the high draft pick that turned out to be Dwyane Wade, arguably the best player in franchise history.
Mourning later signed a four-year deal with the Nets in July of 2003 before retiring in November of that same year. The Hall of Famer later returned to the team for the 2004-05 season, but he made it clear that he wasn’t happy with the team at all. He was then traded to the Toronto Raptors, who subsequently bought him out of his contract.
The two-time Defensive Player of the Year wound up signing with the Heat and became the backup to Shaquille O’Neal. The two had clashed throughout their careers, but they made things work for the better of the team.
O’Neal recently opened up about how the two squashed their beef and were able to come together to help the Heat win a title in 2006.
“I had beef with Alonzo Mourning,” O’Neal said. “And then when he came to the Miami Heat, I had to sit him down and apologize. I said, ‘You know what Alonzo, I was a hypocrite. I never knew you was this great.’ Alonzo Mourning is a great dude.”
Mourning is one of the most important players in Heat history. He is believed to be one of the initiators of the team’s culture that so many across the league speak so highly about.
Throughout his time with the Heat, he averaged 16.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. He helped turn the Heat into what they are today and still works with the team as its vice president of player programs.
