In Memory

With his signature wagging of his index finger after denying a dunk or blocking another shot, Dikembe Mutombo, one of the game’s best shot blockers and one of the best defensive players of his generation, put his stamp on the game. At 7’2” with a long wingspan, Mount Mutombo affected the game defensively with his presence in the paint and his control of the boards.

Dikembe Mutombo passed away on September 30, 2024. He was 58 years old.

John Doleva, President & CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, remembered the long shadow cast by Mutombo over the game of basketball. “Larger than life does not capture what Dikembe Mutombo meant to the game of basketball. There was a warmth and sensibility about him. The basketball world in particular, and in fact the whole world, lost one of its greatest humanitarians today.”

When Mutombo arrived at Georgetown University as a student who spoke minimal English, basketball was the furthest thing from his mind. In fact, his desire was to be a doctor. Once Georgetown head coach John Thompson spotted the 7-foot-2-inch freshman on campus, Mutombo’s career path quickly changed. Mutombo joined the basketball team, studied English in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program, and majored in linguistics and diplomacy. During his three years on the Hoya basketball team, Mutombo was a two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and teamed with Alonzo Mourning to create a “Rejection Row” section under the basket.

During his 18-year NBA career, Mutombo played for the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, and the Houston Rockets. When he retired, he was second all-time in blocked shots. He was an eight-time NBA All-Star, three-time All-NBA Player, four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, six-time All-NBA on defense, four-time leader in total rebounds, and five times led the League in total blocked shots. He averaged a double-double in points and rebounds for most of his career.

Equally impressive was Mutombo’s commitment to humanitarian efforts off the court. He understood that his position as an NBA player gave him an opportunity to serve. Mutombo advised his fellow players, “I've always felt obligated to help those less fortunate than me. It's an obligation that anyone who has a chance to be in the NBA should feel and act upon.”

In 1997, Mutombo started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation with the aim to improve the lives of citizens in his native Democratic Republic of Congo. For his efforts, he was twice awarded the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. His other interests included participating in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program, involvement with the Special Olympics, traveling on behalf of Sports United with the U.S. State Department, and serving as a spokesman for CARES, an international relief agency. He also helped financially support the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, a 300-bed hospital, and the Samuel Mutombo Institute of Science & Entrepreneurship, both in his native Democratic Republic of Congo. Both are named for his parents.

His efforts to better the lives of his country’s citizens have not gone unnoticed. In 2007, he was a guest at President George W. Bush’s State of the Union Address. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health awarded him 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.” During the ceremony, Michael J. Klag, the school’s dean, stated, “Mr. Mutombo is a winner in many ways—on the court and as a humanitarian. His work has improved the health of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center is a model for the region. Likewise, Mr. Mutombo has been instrumental in the fight against polio by bolstering vaccination efforts and bringing treatment to victims of the disease.”

Regarding his life and his humanitarian work, Mutombo once reflected, “I cannot forget the place that I come from. The Congo is in much need.” He later noted, “When I travel around the globe, I try as hard as I can to represent the NBA and the game of basketball to the best of my abilities. I get to go around the world and not only share the game but also my philanthropic work. Building a hospital in the Congo is one of the proudest achievements of my life.”

Dikembe Mutombo was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame with the Class of 2015.