Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo arrived in the United States at age 21 with a specific goal. He intended to study medicine and return to his native Democratic Republic of the Congo to practice as a doctor. His father worked as a school principal before joining Congo's department of education. Dikembe spoke French, Spanish, Portuguese, and five Central African languages including Lingala and Tshiluba. He was a member of the Luba ethnic group.
He attended Boboto College in Kinshasa for high school to prepare for medical studies. At about 16 years old, he decided to focus on basketball instead. His father and brother encouraged him due to his height. In 1987, he moved to the US to enroll in college. He received a USAID scholarship to attend Georgetown University. He spoke almost no English when he first arrived there.
Georgetown Hoyas coach John Thompson recruited him to play basketball instead of pursuing his medical degree immediately. Mutombo played three seasons for the team. During his sophomore year, he once blocked 12 shots in a single game. Fans created a section called Rejection Row under the basket. They added a silhouette of an outstretched hand to a banner for every shot blocked during games. He won Big East Defensive Player of the Year twice, sharing the honor in 1990 with teammate Alonzo Mourning.
In 1991, the Denver Nuggets selected Dikembe Mutombo with the fourth overall pick in the NBA draft. The team ranked last in opponent points per game before his arrival. His shot-blocking ability made an immediate impression across the league. He developed his signature move in 1992 as a way to become more marketable and gain product endorsement contracts.
He celebrated every blocked shot by pointing his right index finger at the opposing player and moving it side to side. That year, Mutombo starred in an Adidas advertisement using the catchphrase Man does not fly in the house of Mutombo. As a rookie, he was selected for the All-Star team and averaged nearly three blocks per game. He quickly established himself as one of the league's best defensive players.
During the 1993-94 season, he averaged 4.1 blocks per game. He helped the Nuggets finish with a 42-40 record and qualify as the eighth seed in the playoffs. They defeated the top-seeded Seattle SuperSonics in a historic upset. Mutombo grabbed the game-winning rebound in Game 5 and fell to the ground holding the ball over his head. His total of 31 blocks remains a record for a five-game series. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award that same season.
Mutombo played for six different franchises during his 18-season career. After leaving Denver, he signed a five-year, $55 million free agent contract with the Atlanta Hawks in 1996. He led Atlanta to back-to-back 50-win seasons in 1996-97 and 1997-98. The Hawks defeated the Detroit Pistons in five games during the 1997 playoffs. In Game 1, Mutombo scored 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in an 89-75 win.
He earned his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award while playing for Philadelphia in 2001. The Sixers reached the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers after defeating Indiana, Toronto, and Milwaukee. Mutombo averaged 16.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks during those finals. He re-signed with Philadelphia on a four-year, $68 million contract afterward.
His final years included stints with New Jersey, New York, and Houston. On the 10th of January 2007, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in total career blocked shots. At age 40, he became the oldest player in NBA history to record more than 20 rebounds in a game. He announced his retirement on the 23rd of April 2009, after 18 seasons.
In 1997, Dikembe Mutombo created the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His work earned him the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2001 and 2009. He was selected as one of 20 winners of the President's Service Awards that same year.
Plans began for a $29 million, 300-bed hospital on the outskirts of Kinshasa. Ground was broken in 2001, but construction did not start until 2004 due to donation challenges. Mutombo personally donated $3.5 million toward the hospital's construction. He struggled to reassure people that he had no ulterior political motives for the project. The facility opened on the 2nd of September 2006, after he donated an additional $15 million.
The Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital is named for his late mother who died of a stroke in 1997. It became the first modern medical facility built in that area in nearly 40 years. The hospital sits on land where about a quarter of Kinshasa's 7.5 million residents live in poverty. In 2020, the foundation also began construction of a school named for his father outside Mbuji-Mayi.
Mutombo made cameo appearances in several films including Juwanna Mann and Like Mike in 2002. His voice and likeness appeared in a Flash game titled Dikembe Mutombo's 4 1/2 Weeks to Save the World released by Old Spice in 2012. He appeared in a GEICO auto insurance commercial in February 2013 parodying his shot-blocking ability. A brief cameo followed in the 2021 film Coming 2 America as himself.
He served as a spokesman for CARE international relief agency and was the first youth emissary for the United Nations Development Program. Mutombo joined the Special Olympics International Board of Directors as a Global Ambassador. He played in the Unity Cup in South Africa before the 2010 World Cup Quarterfinal alongside President Jacob Zuma. He received an honorary doctorate from Georgetown University in 2010 and another from Haverford College in May 2011.
In April 2020, he became chief global officer at Ask the Doctor, connecting people worldwide with healthcare professionals. That same year, he co-founded Mutombo Coffee with businessman Robert C. Bush Jr. The company aimed to create an ethical value chain for coffee sourced from Africa and Latin America.
On the 15th of October 2022, Mutombo's family announced that he was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. He died due to brain cancer on the 30th of September 2024, in Atlanta at age 58. His number 55 jersey was retired by both the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks after his playing career ended.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted him on the 11th of September 2015. He received the Sager Strong Award on the 25th of June 2018. Over his career, he blocked 3,289 shots, ranking second all-time behind Hakeem Olajuwon at the time of his death. He was also the 20th-most-prolific rebounder ever recorded.
Mutombo witnessed the 2016 Brussels bombings at Brussels Airport on the 22nd of March 2016. He posted a report on Facebook saying he was safe shortly after the attacks. Two of his nephews, Harouna Mutombo and Mfiondu Kabengele, played professional basketball. Mfiondu was selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft.
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Common questions
When did Dikembe Mutombo die and how old was he?
Dikembe Mutombo died on the 30th of September 2024 at age 58. His family announced he was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor on the 15th of October 2022.
What is the name of the hospital built by Dikembe Mutombo in Kinshasa?
The Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital opened on the 2nd of September 2006 after construction challenges. It stands as the first modern medical facility built in that area in nearly 40 years.
How many times did Dikembe Mutombo win NBA Defensive Player of the Year?
Dikembe Mutombo won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times during his career. He received this honor twice with Denver, once with Philadelphia in 2001, and another time while playing for Atlanta.
Why did Dikembe Mutombo change his career from medicine to basketball?
Dikembe Mutombo decided to focus on basketball instead of studying medicine when he was about 16 years old. His father and brother encouraged him due to his height before he moved to the US in 1987.
Who are the nephews of Dikembe Mutombo who played professional basketball?
Two of Dikembe Mutombo's nephews named Harouna Mutombo and Mfiondu Kabengele played professional basketball. Mfiondu was selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft.