Alonzo Mourning hasn't played for the Miami Heat in almost a year. He's been rehabbing a bum knee for the last 12 months while supporting his team mates from the sidelines. But now, Zo has decided to move on with his life and let go of his NBA career by announcing his retirement.

''After 16 years, I feel it's best that I retire from the game of basketball,'' Mourning said during a news conference at AmericanAirlines Arena according to the Miami Herald. ``When you've got something you love and you're passionate about, it's hard to let that go. It truly is. It's not a sad day, but it's a day to celebrate. At 38, I feel like I've physically done all I can for this game. God knows it's been an amazing ride. He's blessed me with some amazing years.''

Although Mourning has a championship ring with the Miami Heat, a gold medal from the 2000 Olympics, is a seven-time All-Star, and was twice named NBA defensive player of the year, that's probably not what he'll be remembered for the most. In November 2003, Mourning retired from the NBA because of complications from his life threatening kidney disease - focal segmental glomerular sclerosis. He got a kidney transplant and tried to comeback with the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors but they didn't want him. He signed with the Miami Heat in 2005 and started often in place of Shaquille O'Neal. He was a big piece of the Miami Heat team that won the championship in the 2005-06 NBA season.