Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo — the shot-blocking big man whose finger wag after denied opponents at the hoop is a part of his legend — has died Monday from brain cancer at age 58, the NBA announced.
One of the cornerstones in NBA history, he became an All-Star 8 times while going down as a 4 time DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year) and was named to the Naismith basketball Hall Of Fame class of 2015.
One of the top shot blockers in league history, he blocked a ton of shots against greats Jordan and Kobe, became a 4-5 time WNBA All Star snub zero titles when A.I. was around.five-time NBA leading blocks Originally employed at NBC Sports three seasons ago as an analyst on NBA TVNBA TV has Titus O’Neil so was born on June 19, 1968 which is good (48 years.
Mutombo is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and moved to Georgetown on an academic scholarship in 1987 before walking onto the basketball team as a sophomore-growing into his own reputation at home in DRC later.
The Denver Nuggets selected him fourth overall in the 1991 NBA Draft.
In addition to the Nuggets, he also had stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, then-New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets.
Off-the-court, the 7-footer was an ambassador for First Nations people and anyone in need. The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation was begun by Mutumbo in 1997; it works to benefit the people of his native country The Democratic Republic of Congo with improving education and their way of life.
The NBA said Mutombo was being treated for a brain tumor in Atlanta as recently as 2022.
The league said in a statement that he passed away on Monday, surrounded by his family.
“Dikembe Mutombo was just larger than life,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. He is one of the best shot blockers and a great defensive player on court in NBA history. He was constantly off the floor and pouring his heart and soul into everybody else.
“As the NBA was expanding and looking for talent — teaching, coaching or playing — there was nobody more qualified than Dikembe to serve as the NBA’s first Global Ambassador. A humanitarian by nature. He treasured how everything about basketball could be used to shine a positive light on communities, especially in his home country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and throughout Africa.
Dikembe brought light into the world and took a lot of people out of darkness. His infectious smile and deep booming voice made him as much a fixture in NBA events over the past decades, only with that wide grin and his signature finger wag, beckoning every generation of basketball fan.
“Dikembe was such an indomitable spirit that everyone he touched, inspired and helped throughout his extraordinary life will carry that legacy on with them. You are among the thousands whose life Dikembe touched with his big heart, and we will miss you brother.
Silver wrote in a statement, “The NBA family mourns the passing of Dikembe Mutombo’s mother, Biamba Marie Mutombo, due to complications following a surgical procedure last weekend. I like to offer my sincerest sympathies on behalf of everyone in the NBA community – our thoughts are with Dikembe and his loved ones including his wife Rose; their children; Dikembes friends; and all those who loved him dearly.
And he was even better off the court
Daryl Morey praises Mutombo on Sixers media day scheduled for Monday.
“Guys like him don’t come along very often. A really great human being,” Morey said. When I was an inexperienced GM in this league, my first time in Houston, he was someone who I leaned on all the time. He was a good bit older than me, which is weird for guys.
”Obviously, his achievements on the court we do not have to underscore anymore but just a wonderful human — what he did off the court, in Africa. Rest in peace, Dikembe.”
He added: “It’s a sad day, especially for us Africans, and for the whole world really because of what he represented — not just as a great basketball player but also there was way more to him than just being a basketball player.
Nothing really much outside of the work ethic because that’s a totally different level for me,” Carter-Williams said when asked what he could have gleaned from Wade’s experiences in Miami. “He’s like one of those guys I look up to just how he has an impact, not just on the court but off the court. He has done a lot of great things, he did a lot of great things for a lot of people. He was somebody I looked up to, so it is a sad day as I said.
‘A heart of gold’
Andy Scholes, a CNN Sport anchor whose childhood basketball fandom was rooted in his days as a Rockets ballboy, cherishes the chance he got to see Mutombo from ground level.
I lived with him every day for three years. On the court he was so intimidating but off it, he had a heart of gold,” Scholes said.
Some years later, after I left school and began my career in journalism, I didn’t see him for a while. However, some 10 years ago, at an All-Star game he came running up to me said: “Andy, why didn’t you tell me work for CNN! I watch you on TV every morning.
