Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo – known for his shot-blocking and famed finger wave after denying opponents at the hoop – died Monday from brain cancer aged 58, according to the NBA.
Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, he was an eight-time NBA All-Star and won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award four times.
His defensive prowess – leading the league in blocks for five consecutive seasons during an 18-year playing career and retiring second on the NBA’s all-time blocked shots list – was offset by his huge, playful smile.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the 7-foot-2-inch Mutombo came to Washington’s Georgetown University initially on an academic scholarship in 1987 and rose to fame when he joined the basketball team in his second year.
He was selected fourth in the 1991 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets.
Aside from the Nuggets, he played for the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, the then named New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets.
Off the court, the towering center was known for his humanitarian work. In 1997, Mutombo established the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation with a mission to improve education and quality of life in his native DRC.
In 2022, the NBA said Mutombo was receiving treatment for a brain tumor in Atlanta.
The league said he was surrounded by his family when he died Monday.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement, saying, “Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life. On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA. Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.
“There was nobody more qualified than Dikembe to serve as the NBA’s first Global Ambassador. He was a humanitarian at his core. He loved what the game of basketball could do to make a positive impact on communities, especially in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo and across the continent of Africa.
“I had the privilege of traveling the world with Dikembe and seeing first-hand how his generosity and compassion uplifted people. He was always accessible at NBA events over the years – with his infectious smile, deep booming voice and signature finger wag that endeared him to basketball fans of every generation.
“Dikembe’s indomitable spirit continues on in those who he helped and inspired throughout his extraordinary life. I am one of the many people whose lives were touched by Dikembe’s big heart and I will miss him dearly.
“On behalf of the entire NBA family, I send my deepest condolences to Dikembe’s wife, Rose, and their children; his many friends; and the global basketball community which he truly loved and which loved him back,” Silver’s statement said.
‘He was even better off the court’
Sixers general manager Daryl Morey lauded Mutombo during the team’s scheduled media day on Monday.
“There aren’t many guys like him. Just a great human being,” Morey said. “When I was a rookie GM in this league, my first chance in Houston, he was someone I went to all the time. He was older than me which is pretty rare.
“Obviously, his accomplishments on the court, we don’t need to talk about too much but just an amazing human being – what he did off the court, for Africa. Rest in peace, Dikembe.”
Speaking to reporters, 76ers star Joel Embiid said: “It’s a sad day, especially for us Africans and really the whole world, because other than what he’s accomplished on the basketball court, I think he was even better off the court.
“He’s one of the guys that I look up to as far as having an impact, not just on the court but off the court. He’s done a lot of great things, he did a lot of great things for a lot of people. He was a role model of mine, so like I said, it is a sad day.”
‘A heart of gold’
CNN Sport anchor Andy Scholes was a Rockets ballboy as a child, and fondly remembers getting to witness Mutombo up close.
“I was around him nearly every day for three years. He was intimidating on the court but off it he had a heart of gold,” Scholes said.
“I didn’t see him for some time after starting my journalism career. But at an All-Star game some 10 years ago, he came running up to me and said: ‘Andy, why didn’t you tell me you work for CNN! I watch you on TV every morning’.
“From then on whenever we’d see each other he always told me how proud he was of me. That meant so much to me because I always looked up to Dikembe, literally and figuratively.”
This story has been updated with additional information.