NOT IN MY HOUSE
Posted on 10/01/2024 8:54:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
One of the giants of the sports world passed away yesterday. Dikembe Mutombo was an impressive basketball player with an 18-year NBA career, and at 7-foot-2-inches tall, he towered over mere mortals as well as some of his teammates and competitors.
Born in 1966 in what is now the Republic of the Congo, Mutombo was one of 10 children of a principal and his wife. At age 21, he came to the U.S. to play basketball at Georgetown University, and he parlayed his college success into the NBA.
Mutombo played in the big leagues for nearly two decades, including five-year stints with the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks. Both teams retired his jersey after he retired from the NBA in 2009, and he entered the Hall of Fame in 2015.
Confession: I’m not a pro basketball fan, but certain players like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and, of course, Mutombo have earned my respect over the years. It was Mutombo’s time in Atlanta that led me to appreciate him, and he made Atlanta his home when he retired.
As a powerful center with height and reach, Mutombo excelled at blocking shots. His signature move was waving his index finger after a block. He became so famous for that move that he parlayed it into commercial success.
Mutombo was fun to watch, and his highlights were always worth looking for. I always enjoyed it when Sportscenter anchors — especially Stuart Scott, if I’m remembering correctly — would call him by his full name: Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo.
But what made Mutombo so remarkable was his life outside of basketball.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
He spoke nine languages and originally intended to go to medical school. Instead, he graduated with degrees in linguistics and diplomacy. Both of those degrees served him well in the humanitarian work he undertook as a player and after he retired.
A giant, both literally, and figuratively.
A great man, and his “no-no” finger wag after blocking a shot was classic. From someone else, it might have come across as arrogant. From him, it was just fun.
Condolences to family and friends of Dikembe Mutombo
I always got the sense that he was basically thrilled to be wherever he was.
That kind of happiness is not something you can fake.
Years ago, when I took my 3 young sons to a Nuggets game, we waited outside the arena following the game because they wanted autographs. The only one who stopped to talk to them was Motumbo. Very nice man. One son still has the T-shirt he signed.
Good guy but I always hated that finger wag. It was cute the first 50 times he did it.
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