How faith drives former NBA star Alonzo Mourning’s goodwill

When asked why he’s dedicated this stage of his life to building affordable homes for families and senior citizens, Hall of Fame basketball player Alonzo Mourning had a simple response.

It’s not just because of the money, nor is it only about being the right thing to do.

As a man of faith, Mourning believes we’re all created by a god whose qualities we all can inherit. Loving your neighbor as yourself is what Christians are taught, which takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to housing shortages and homelessness, both of which are endemic to American society.

So, after a 15-year NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets, New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat, during which he won a championship in 2006 with the Heat, Mourning pivoted full time into philanthropy after retiring in 2008.

Over the past decade, he’s moved into housing development. In May, his latest development—a $37 million affordable senior apartment in Bradenton, Florida—was completed. The five-story, 120-unit building will cost its residents as low as $322 a month.

For Mourning, the product of the foster care system, affordable and sustainable housing is pivotal to life success. And with all the money, respect and influence he’s earned over the years through his basketball career, he believes it’s his destiny to provide for those less fortunate than him.

“Your legacy should be defined by what you do for your neighbor … the impact that you had on other people’s lives,” Mourning said.

Mourning, 55, was born in Chesapeake, Virginia. When he was age 12, his parents separated and decided to place him in foster care with a family friend, Fannie Threet.

Ms. Threet, a retired schoolteacher who fostered nearly 50 children over the course of her life, was a faith-based, angelic, and giving woman. She was about making a difference in the world and giving back. Mourning embraced what Ms. Threet stood for and later in life mimicked those same qualities in his own philanthropy, including The Mourning Family Foundation in 1997 and the Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High School in 2009.

“She saved my life, and she gave me a home,” said Mourning, who stayed with Ms. Threet until he turned 18 and left to play basketball at Georgetown University.

Through the relationships Mourning built through his philanthropy and being a Heat player from 1995 to 2002 and again from 2005 to 2008, he was approached about a decade ago about getting into affordable housing in South Florida.

A 2025 report by the University of Florida found that there are nearly 900,000 “low-income, cost-burdened renters” in the state, defined as those with incomes 60% below the area median income who pay more than 40% of their income on housing. Of those 900,000 renters, nearly 350,000 are 55 or older. The report estimates there’s a shortage of almost 100,000 affordable units for low-income renters in the state.

In 2017, Mourning launched AM Affordable Housing, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with which he entered into a partnership with Housing Trust Group (HTG), a housing development company, to build affordable family and senior units.

As part of the partnership, HTG handles the development, architecture and management of the units. At the same time, AM’s nonprofit status allows the venture to secure subsidies, including tax breaks from the city and state. In his role, Mourning approves interior designs for the developments, identifies federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) opportunities and tax credits to offset construction costs, and meets with landowners and state officials during the approval process.

The joint venture has 15 properties under construction, development, or approved in Miami-Dade County, Overtown, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and other cities. In 2024, AM and HTG branched out into Texas, developing a 56-unit apartment complex in Lubbock. Mourning hopes to one day expand into his home state of Virginia.

For the Astoria on 9th development in Bradenton, AM and HTG received more than $17 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from the Department of Housing and Urban Development; over $9 million in State Apartment Incentive Loans (SAIL) for affordable housing; $600,000 in extremely low-income loans, among other loans and subsidies.

“When I’m sitting at the table it helps moves the needle a little bit more,” Mourning said.

AM and HTG’s first development was the Courtside Apartments in Overtown, Florida, north of downtown Miami. The $23 million project, where rent at the time capped out at $990 a month, consisted of 84 one- to three-bedroom apartments. Rent at the time maxed out at $990 per month.

Mourning said they received more than 3,000 initial applicants for the Courtside Apartments, underscoring the overwhelming need for affordable housing in the area and state. There’s a stigma, Mourning said, about those who need and live in affordable housing that they are lazy freeloaders who don’t work and are constantly waiting for a government handout.

But that’s far from the case, he said. It’s veterans who have dealt with lifelong mental and physical ailments. It’s previously homeless people who have nowhere else to turn. It’s senior citizens whose sole source of income is their monthly Social Security checks. The average Social Security retirement payment is just under $2,000 a month, according to the Social Security Administration. The average rent in Florida is about $1,900 a month, according to Redfin, a website that provides property listings,

“These are real stories,” Mourning said. “These are people that aren’t looking for a handout, they just need a little bit of help.”

Mourning believes it’s his purpose to provide that help. Growing up in foster care with Ms. Threet, Mourning knows firsthand the importance of having a home. He also credits all the teachers, businesspeople and coaches, including legendary Georgetown head coach John Thompson, with pouring into him throughout his life and basketball journeys. So much so that Mourning believes he’d be doing all those people a disservice if he didn’t use his name and stature to pay it forward, or deliver a good deed.

The benefits of having a roof over your head are endless. According to research by the Center for Housing Policy, stable, affordable housing can increase access to food and health care services, reduce stress and developmental delays, and positively impact mental health.

For Mourning, he aspires to fill the affordable housing void. His empathy for those less fortunate and his desire to assist them stem from his faith in God. Mourning quoted Ephesians 2:10 when explaining his work in affordable housing : “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

“That’s what I want my legacy to be about,” Mourning said. “Basketball is temporary, eventually that ball stops bouncing. So, OK, what are you going to do with your life after that?”

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