-
JORGE QUIROGA
Updated
World basketball is in mourning after hearing the sad news of the death of Dikembe Mutombo. The NBA itself announced on social media with a statement the death of the former player, a member of the Hall of Fame and one of the best closers of all time.
Mutomboambassador of the League throughout the world and president of the foundation that bore his name and which he created in 1997, died after not being able to overcome brain cancer with which he had been fighting for some time, from 2022. At the time of his death, Mutombo He was 58 years old.
To give the sad news to the world, the NBA issued a statement with the words of Adam Silver in which he defined Dikembe Mutombo as “someone who transcended life itself. On the court he was one of the best blockers and defenders in NBA history. “He came from the field, he put his heart and soul into trying to help others.”
Furthermore, his own Silver highlighted that “There has been no one more qualified than Dikembe to serve as an NBA ambassador to the world. He loved all the positive things basketball can do in communities, especially in his native Republic of the Congo and the entire African continent”.
Dikembe Mutombo disputed 18 seasons in the NBA playing for the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. He retired from active basketball in the 2008-09 season.
Among his achievements on the track, his four titles as best defender in the Leaguethe three times he was chosen in the best team of the season and the eight All Stars he played. Mutombo is twentieth in rebounds in NBA history with a total of 12,359 and his 3,289 blocks make him second in this classification only behind Hakeem Olajuwon.
Dekembe Mutombo during a Hall of Fame press conference.Julio Cortez
But one of his most characteristic gestures on the track has transcended his figure despite having been retired for more than 15 years. And that index finger saying ‘no’ once the cap was placed and his famous phrase ‘Not in my house’‘ (not in my house) every time I denied a shot to an opponent.
The center, who has been a member of the Hall of Fame since 2015, was born on June 25, 1966 in Kinshasa and his full name was Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo. In his era he was considered one of the most powerful interior players in the NBA in direct fight with players like Hakeem Olajuwon, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal or Patrick Ewing.
To know the human dimension of Mutombo It is enough to know that he spoke nine languages and that he created the Dikembe Mutombo foundation in 1997 which sought to improve the health, education and quality of life of the people of the Congo and other African countries. Among other things, his foundation promoted the construction of a 170-bed hospital in Kinshasathe capital of the Republic of the Congo, a facility that has treated more than half a million people to date.
