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Dikembe Mutombo is dead
African, American and world basketball is in mourning. Dikembe Mutombo is dead. The announcement came this Monday, September 30. The Congolese, former NBA player, is quite simply one of the best defenders in the history of the League, of which he holds the record for defender of the year titles (4). RIP legend!
There are dark days in the history of sport, and September 30, 2024 will undoubtedly be one of them. Dikembe Mutombo is gone forever. He was 58 years old. The native of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo suffered from a brain tumor detected in 2022. This news saddens the world of basketball and African sport in general. If today some children from the continent manage to shine in the NBA, it is because Mutombo knew how to show the way. Drafted by Denver in 4th position in 1991, the Congolese was then 25 years old. And for his 1era season, he finished with 16.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 3 blocks on average. His 2m18 height cools the attackers' ardor. An impassable mountain, it wore the colors of the Nuggets for 5 years. The juggernaut will then wear the colors of Atlanta, Philadelphia, the New Jersey Nets, the New York Knicks, and the Houston Rockets where he will end his career in 2009. He is today considered the best African player in NBA history.
It was Dikembe Mutombo.
RIP. 🇨🇩🕊️ pic.twitter.com/7TPK5nmgcc
— SPORTS ZONE (@SportsZone__) September 30, 2024
One of the greatest defenders in history
During his career, Dikembe Mutombo won 4 titles of best defender of the year in the NBA (1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001), a record shared with Ben Wallace and Rudy Gobert. He is also the second best blocker in NBA history with 3,289 blocks, just behind Hakeem Olajuwon (3,830 blocks). He is also the player who took the most defensive rebounds over a season in 1999 (418), and in 2000 (853) as well as the player who took the most rebounds over a season in 1995 (1,029), 1997 ( 929), 1999 (610), and in 2000 (1,157), and the player who took the most offensive rebounds in a season in 2001 (307) in addition to having the record for blocks in a season in 1994 ( 336), 1995 (321), 1996 (332), 1997 (264), and in 1998 (277). He will have been an 8-time All Star. In 2015, the legend was perpetuated as he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame. Rarely, his jersey number was retired in Atlanta as well as in Denver in 2017.
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Through its president Adam Silver, the NBA paid tribute to the legend who will appear in the pantheon of the orange ball. “ Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life. On the court, he was one of the greatest blockers and one of the best defenders in NBA history. Off the field he devoted his heart and soul to helping others. There was no one more qualified than Dikembe to become the NBA's first global ambassador. He was a humanitarian at heart. He loved what basketball could do to positively impact communities, especially in his native Democratic Republic of Congo. Congo and across the African continent. I have had the privilege of traveling the world with Dikembe and seeing first-hand how his generosity and compassion have uplifted people at NBA events over the years – with his infectious smile and deep voice and resounding. and his signature which endeared him to basketball fans of all generations. Dikembe's indomitable spirit lives on in those 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 who he truly loved and who loved him back “. Dikembe Mutombo is therefore gone, but his legacy will forever remain engraved in the collective memory of basketball. The orange ball will always mourn one of its fiercest defenders. Farewell, legend!