Dikembe Mutombo passes away at 58 due to brain cancer
Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo passed away at the age of 58 due to brain cancer, according to Shams Charania.
A 19-year NBA veteran, Mutombo played for the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets from 1991-2009. An eight-time All-Star, Mutombo was one of the most feared big men in the NBA.
An excellent defender and shot blocker, Mutombo was a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1995, ’97, ’98 and 2001. He was also the NBA’s rebound leader in 2000 and ’01.
His No. 55 was retired by the Hawks and Nuggets for his contributions to each franchise.
Mutombo was a well-known humanitarian. He started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in his native Democratic Republic of Congo back in 1997. His efforts earned him the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.
In 1997, he began plans to open a hospital in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa. It was finally opened in 2006 after delays and named after his late mother Biamba Marie.
It didn’t stop there. In 2004, Mutombo participated in Basketball Without Borders, where he and other stars like Shawn Bradley, Malik Rose and DeSagana Diop toured Africa to spread the word about basketball and improve infrastructure.
A longtime supporter of the Special Olympics, Mutombo served on the International Board of Directors and was a Global Ambassador. He pioneered Unified Sports, which brought together people with and without intellectual disabilities.
Former President George W. Bush invited Mutombo to the 2007 State of the Union Address and was referred to as a “son of the Congo” by Bush.
In 2011, Johns Hopkins gave Mutombo the Goodermote Humanitarian Award for his efforts to reduce polio globally as well as his work improving the health of neglected and underserved populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In 2020, the Mutombo Foundation began construction of a modern pre-K through sixth-grade school in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Dikembe Mutombo dies at 58
NBA commissioner also released a statement on Mutombo’s passing Monday.
Mutombo did not win a championship during his pro career, but was key in two runs to the Finals.
In 2001, the Hawks traded Mutombo at the deadline to Philadelphia, who ended up as Eastern Conference champions. He was a key cog in helping the Sixers get to the Finals and winning Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mutombo was able to play with eventual Hall of Fame Allen Iverson during his short time in Philadelphia. A year later, he was traded to New Jersey.
Mutombo helped the Nets get to the 2003 NBA Finals but New Jersey fell in six games to the San Antonio Spurs.
The No. 4 overall pick out of Georgetown in the 1991 NBA Draft, Mutombo was a legend in the old-school Big East. He was named First-Team All-Big East in 1991 and was a Third-Team All-American player.
Mutombo was also a two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 1990 and ’91.
In his post-playing days, Mutombo’s personality was also on display in GEICO auto insurance commercials. They parodied his shot-blocking ability and finger wags where Mutombo would block real-world objects and wag his finger.
He also had a brief cameo in the 2021 film Coming 2 America as himself. Mutombo later announced he began treatment for a brain tumor back in October of 2022.