After a career distinguished by his on-court performance and off-court dignity, the seven-time All-Star center announced his retirement Thursday.

"After 16 years, I truly feel that it is best that I retire from the game of Basketball," Mourning said in front of a sign that read, "Warriors Do Not Live in the Past, the Past is Dead, Life is Now, and the Future is Waiting."

He then gathered himself and added, "At 38 years old, I feel like I've physically done all I can for this game. As God only knows, it's been an amazing ride.

"It's not a sad day. But it's a day to celebrate. I could think of a million people right now that would love to walk the path that I walked."

Just weeks shy of his 39th birthday, and after more than a year of rehabilitation from a devastating knee injury, Mourning made his announcement in the same room where he had announced a previous retirement because of kidney illness and later announced a return to the team.

A South Florida icon respected as much for his charitable foundation as his ferocious dunks and blocked shots, Mourning in recent months had spoken of a life larger than Basketball, a life rich with his two children and civic endeavors.

"My health is more important than anything," he said Thursday. "God willing, I'll be able to live another 40 or 50 years. And I want to do it in a comfortable state. Right now I'm there."

The next stop for Mourning likely will be in the Basketball Hall of Fame, after a required waiting period that, in the interim, will feature the retirement of his No. 33 jersey.

A two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mourning accomplished his ultimate professional goal with the Heat's 2006 NBA championship team.

He said if the Heat had not been in the middle of the pack and not been coming off a league-worst season, he might have been tempted to try another comeback.

After his last injury, he stressed a desire to return, retaining his locker at AmericanAirlines Arena and working out frequently.

"I saw that light at the end of the tunnel, that, 'Hey, I could get back and do this,' " he said. "But I wasn't quite confident and sure that I could do it at the level that all the fans and me, myself, wanted to."

In recent days, be it his charity work, his attendance at the presidential inauguration, or having to put his body through more grueling workouts, he decided it was time.

That doesn't mean he's completely leaving the game. He has done network television and has mentioned moving into a team's front office.

"I think a part of me always wants to be connected with the game," he said. "I know that there will be opportunities for me out there."

In many ways, closure came not Thursday, but Wednesday night, in the locker room, with guard Dwyane Wade and forward Udonis Haslem, the team's lone remaining contributors from the 2006 title team.

"I just told them that I love them," Mourning said.

That passion, Wade said, will endure.

"He's still what Miami Heat Basketball is all about," Wade said. "For any player who comes here, Alonzo is always going to be the mirror image of what you would like to be."

Ira Winderman can be reached at iwinderman@SunSentinel.com

INFORMATIONAL BOX:

2

Times named the Defensive Player of the Year (1998-99 and 1999-00). 5

Blocked shots in the title-clinching Game 6 of the NBA Finals in 2006. 3

The Heat's all-time leader in points (9,459), rebounds (4,807) and blocked shots (1,625).

Inside

Riley looking at big picture. >> Page 2

Mourning timeline from Hornets to retirement. >> Page 3

Video

Is Alonzo Mourning the most popular sports figure in South Florida? Ethan J. Skolnick tackles that question in a report at SunSentinel .com/Heat

INFORMATIONAL BOX:

Zo's timeline

June 24, 1992: Drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, as the second pick behind Shaquille O'Neal.

Nov. 3, 1995: Traded, along with Pete Myers and LeRon Ellis, to the Heat for Glen Rice, Matt Geiger, Khalid Reeves and a draft pick.

March 29, 1996: Scores a career-high 50 points against Washington.

May 18, 1997: Scores 22 points and grabs 12 rebounds to help the Heat defeat the Knicks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semis. The Heat loses to the Chicago Bulls in the conference finals.

1998-99: Wins NBA Defensive Player of the Year award and leads the Heat to division title. But the Knicks upset the Heat on the way to the NBA Finals. Mourning second in MVP balloting.

1999-2000: Wins his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award and again leads the NBA in blocked shots.

Summer 2000: Averages 10.2 points and 4.2 rebounds for the U.S. gold-medal Olympic team.

Oct. 16, 2000: Announces he has been diagnosed with focal glomerulosclerosis, a kidney disorder, and plans to sit out the season.

March 27, 2001: Comes off the bench vs. the Raptors in his first game of the season. He averages 13.6 points, 7.8 rebounds in 13 games.

2001-02: Appears in 75 games and averages 15.7 points and 8.4 rebounds. He receives the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for exemplary community service.

Sept. 12, 2002: Sidelined with a deteriorating kidney condition; he misses the entire season.

July 16, 2003: Signs free-agent contract with New Jersey.

Dec. 19, 2003: Receives a kidney transplant from his cousin after playing 12 games with Nets.

Nov. 3, 2004: Returns to the court and scores seven points and grabs five rebounds in 14 minutes in a 100-77 loss to the Heat.

Dec. 17, 2004: Traded from New Jersey, with Aaron Williams, Eric Williams and two first-round draft picks, to Toronto for Vince Carter.

Feb. 11, 2005: Waived by Toronto after never playing a game.

March 1, 2005: Re-signs with the Heat, averaging 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 19 games.

May 12, 2005: Starts two playoff games in place of injured O'Neal as Heat sweeps Washington to advance to the conference finals.

June 20, 2006: Gets eight points, six rebounds and five blocks as Heat clinches its first NBA title with a 95-92 Game 6 win in Dallas.

2006-07: Plays in 77 games, starting 43, both highs since leaving Miami in 2003.

Dec. 19, 2007: Tears tendon in his knee, keeping him out for the remainder of the season.

Jan. 22, 2009: Retires as the Heat's all-time leader in points (9,459), rebounds (4,807) and blocked shots (1,625).

- Philip Rossman-Reich