The National Basketball Association received a pleasant surprise Tuesday night when Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning (CAS ’92) returned to action in the Heat’s 101-92 loss to the Toronto Raptors. It was the first time that Mourning had played in a game since being diagnosed with kidney disease last October. It was expected that he would miss the entire season and possibly never play again.

“I’m out here to win, not just to prove I can come back from this disease. My purpose is to help this team win, that’s the bottom line,” Mourning said.

The six-time All-Star and reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year looked a little rusty in his return, managing nine points on 3 of 11 shooting and six boards in 19 minutes of action. ourning’s return had little immediate effect as the Heat lost 101-92.

After being sidelined for the first 69 games of the regular season, Mourning officially came back with 3 minutes 43 seconds left in the first quarter of the Heat’s game against the Toronto Raptors. The near-sellout crowd at the American Airlines Arena in Miami gave Mourning a standing ovation.

“My concern was trying to be fully productive when I was on the court,” Mourning said. “And I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

However his mere presence shifts the balance of power in the NBA’s Eastern Conference and makes the Heat a serious championship contender. The Heat have made the playoffs for the past several years, but have repeatedly fallen short of the Championship. Miami was 42-27 without Mourning this season.

Before Tuesday’s contest, the last action Mourning had seen was in the United States Olympic team’s gold-medal victory over France at the Sydney games on Oct. 1, 2000. Upon arriving from Sydney, Mourning went through a routine physical, where trainers detected kidney problems. Mourning’s condition was diagnosed as focal glomerulosclerosis, a disease that scars the kidneys and leads to kidney failure in half of its cases. If his kidneys were to fail, Mourning would need dialysis or a transplant.

Mourning, 31, began practicing with the Heat several weeks ago and then decided to play after doctors told him that his condition might not change for a year. Mourning’s agent, David Falk, said that Mourning’s disease was not cured but was in remission. At a surprise news conference Tuesday afternoon, ourning announced that he would indeed return for that day’s game against Toronto.

Mourning’s status for each game will be listed day-to-day as doctors closely monitor his health. They have told Mourning that he must drink at least five 16 oz. bottles of water during a game. ourning is following a strict low-sodium diet and he had been taking as many as 11 pills a day to treat his kidneys and to control blood pressure and cholesterol levels.