Four legends

Congratulations to the Miami Heat. They bounced back both from last year's disappointing loss to Detroit and from the 0-2 deficit they found themselves in just over a week ago to win their first championship.

Much will be made of the emergence of Dwyane Wade, who has been amazing from day one and is well on his way to becoming a legend. Shaq is already that highly regarded, and Kobe-haters no doubt delight in his most recent title.

Today I just want to take a moment to reflect on the two other Heat veterans who are potential Hall of Famers. I'm speaking, of course, of Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton, both of whose former greatness is now but an afterthought.

'Zo-Depending on how loosely you define it, 'Zo is one of the greatest centers of all time. Some years ago (1999 or so), I read Dr. Jack Ramsay call 'Zo one of the ten best centers ever. (I think it was in a mailbag on NBA.com.) Like all such lists, players in their prime were given too much credit.

When you write out a list today, it's harder to see him that high-he has competition like Russell, Chamberlain, Shaq, Olajuwon, the Admiral, Patrick Ewing, Nate Thurmond, Moses Malone, George Mikan, and others. (Obviously Mourning would obliterate Mikan, but you get what I'm saying.)

That said, Mourning was a terrific rebounder and defender and a graceless but highly competent scorer in his day. The biggest hole in his game was that he wasn't much of a passer. I thought Mourning should have won MVP in the lockout season of '99, but for once, Karl Malone found himself on the right side of a memorable steal. (Well, for twice, I guess-Malone didn't deserve his other MVP trophy either.)

Anyway, Zo's mostly remembered now as a warrior for his comeback from kidney trouble. That comeback earned his enough goodwill to force his way out of New Jersey, which was kind of messed up, but at least he ended up back on the right team.

I can still remember watching Mourning's first home appearance after rejoining the Heat on TV. He was too nervous and out-of-shape to do much, but the atmosphere at the arena was electrifying-one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. I'm really glad to see all the hard work pay off for him.

The Glove-Gary Payton ranks almost as high on a list of great point guards as Shaq should on any list of great centers. Payton's been the best point guard since I've been an NBA fan (the last ten years or so) and ranks ahead of anyone in my lifetime, except Magic and Isiah.

John Stockton? Please. If he'd had a conscience-free jump shooter like Karl Malone on his team, Payton could have raised his assist totals to double-digits while maintaining his dangerous scoring. As it was, when he did have Shawn Kemp, Payton was good for 20 points and world-class defense every night. In the 90's, that kind of consistent effort was matched only by superstars Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon. Also unlike Stockton, Payton wasn't known for elbowing other guys in the unmentionables, which earns him points in my book.

Jason Kidd? Kidd has a versatile game himself. He probably beats Payton as a rebounder and surely as a passer, but I think assists are a little overrated to begin with. Payton, of course, has a sizeable edge in scoring and on defense, and I think he was more clutch. While Kidd always goes at top speed, his best defensive move is undercutting offensive players and drawing charges. He gets so much favoritism from the officials on those calls that even Dwyane Wade could call it shameful. Charging is the most annoying call and kills the flow of games, so I knock Kidd down for that. But I think Payton was better anyway.

Payton has been a disruptive force through the years, though, and he hasn't been very eager to accept a supporting role as his career winds down. Sometimes it seems every NBA player is like that. But I'm not saying the guy's a saint-I'm just glad he got a ring.