Zo: Always The Bridesmaid

Alonzo Mourning officially announced his retirement today, ending a brilliant career filled with numerous individual accolades, most notably winning Defensive Player Of The Year twice for the Miami Heat (1999 and 2000). He was a seven-time All-Star. And as you'll probably recall, Zo also picked up a championship ring with the Heat in 2006 as Shaquille O'Neal's backup.

How appropriate for a guy who spent his entire career chasing Shaq.

He was drafted second behind Shaq in 1992. He finished second to Shaq for Rookie Of The Year. He had a very public beef with Shaq that reeked of jealousy.

His legacy will be that of the brave warrior who survived a life-threatening kidney disease. He might even be remembered for dragging Jeff Van Gundy around while trying to bitchslap Larry Johnson. But as a player, he was always overshadowed by the larger-than-life O'Neal.