News from Dikembe Mutombo were rare since 2022 and the announcement of his brain tumor. We hoped to see the legendary NBA pivot again around a TV set or on the court, as an ambassador of the game and of Africa. Unfortunately, the giant is gone. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Dikembe Mutombo died today, at the age of 58, following the illness he suffered from for several years.
Dikembe Mutombo was one of the most notable players of the 90s and early 2000s, with a phenomenal individual record and status as the best interior defender of his time. The Congolese was voted best defender in the league four times, an eight-time All-Star, three times in one of the best five of the season and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015, for his prowess with the Atlanta Hawks, the Denver Nuggets or the Philadelphia Sixers, before less successful visits to New Jersey, New York and Houston.
From his inimitable gravelly voice to his iconic finger wag to dissuade his opponents from attacking the rim, Dikembe Mutombo left his mark on the minds of all NBA fans who were able to observe his career. But the Congolese was also an extremely active man on the humanitarian level, in particular for the African continent, through operations linked to basketball or thanks to large donations which enabled the development of hospitals and health services.
We imagine that a strong tribute will be paid to him where he shone the most, namely in Atlanta and Denver, where his number 55 is retired, but also throughout the entire NBA when it resumes in October.
