Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo was born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 25th, 1966 and is the Basketball Player. At the age of 58, Dikembe Mutombo biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 58 years old, Dikembe Mutombo has this physical status:
Dikembe Mukamba Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966) is a Congolese former professional basketball player who plays for Congolese National Basketball Team.
Mutombo played in the National Basketball Association for 18 seasons (NBA).
He has gained a following outside of basketball for his humanitarian work. The 7 ft 2 In (2.18 meters) center, who began his career with the Georgetown Hoyas, has been named as one of the best shot blockers and defensive players of all time, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times; he was also an eight-time All-Star.
He defeated Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the second most prolific shot blocker in NBA history on January 10, 2007, behind only Hakeem Olajuwon.
Mutombo retired after posting a double-double for the majority of his career, his second in a row of career double-doubles involving points, rebounds, and blocks, and his second all-time record for second triple double doubles involving points, rebounds, and blocks.
On September 11, 2015, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Early life
Mutombo was born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 25, 1966, as one of ten children to Samuel and Biamba Marie Mutombo. His father served as a school principal and then in Congo's department of education. Mutombo speaks English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and five Central African languages, including Lingala and Tshiluba. He is a member of the Luba ethnic group. Mutombo was to Boboto College in Kinshasa to lay the groundwork for his medical education as the classes were more demanding there. He played football and competed in martial arts. Mutombo began training on his basketball career at the request of his father and brother due to his height around age 16. In 1987, he went to the United States at the age of 21 to enroll in college.
Personal life
Ilo's 6'10" older brother, Mutombo, started playing basketball in Division II for the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles in 1987. In a 1990 game at the Capital Centre, the brothers competed against each other.
During a visit to Kinshasa in 1995, he met his wife, Rose. They live in Atlanta and have three children together. They also adopted four children from Rose's deceased brothers. Ryan's son, Ryan, was ranked as the 16th best center in high school and had opted to attend Georgetown in 2021.
In 2004, Mutombo was named an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the State University of New York College in Cortland for his humanitarian service in Africa. He was granted an honorary doctorate by Georgetown University in 2010. He delivered the commencement address for Georgetown College of Arts and Sciences, in which he is a sarcon. In May 2011, he was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Haverford College.
In November 2015, the NCAA named Mutombo as the winner of its 2016 Silver Anniversary Awards. On the 25th anniversary of their college careers, six former NCAA students are given awards every year, recognizing both excellence in college and professional achievement after college. Both his basketball career and extensive humanitarian work were cited in the announcement.
Harouna Mutombo, Mutombo's nephew, played college basketball for the Western Carolina Catamounts and in Europe. Harouna was the team's top scorer for the 2009 season and was named Southern Conference Freshman of the Year. Haboubakar Mutombo, his uncle, has also decided to play basketball in Western Carolina, which began in 2013. Mfiondu Kabengele, his uncle, played college basketball at Florida State University and was named the 2018-19 ACC Sixth Man of the Year. He was then drafted in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft and signed a playing contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Ryan Mutombo, his son, now plays college basketball for Georgetown. Ryan is ranked at 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) and plays center, and he plays center. Ryan was a highly coveted 4 star recruiter in the 2021 recruiting class after coming out of high school.
Mutombo was one of those who witnessed the 2016 Brussels bombings at Brussels Airport on March 22, 2016. He shared a note on his Facebook page stating that he was safe shortly after the bombings. "God is wonderful," his first post said. With this craziness, I am in Brussels Airport. I am fine.
He revealed on October 15, 2022, that he was undergoing brain tumor treatment.
NBA career
Mutombo was drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the fourth overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft. The Nuggets were ranked last in the NBA in opponent points-per-game and Defensive Rating, and Mutombo's shot-blocking skills made an immediate impression throughout the league. In 1992, he made his first move as a way to become more marketable and gain product endorsement contracts. He would point his right index finger at that player and move it to the opposing team after blocking a player's shot. Mutombo appeared in an Adidas commercial that featured the phrase "Man does not fly in the house of Mutombo," a nodo mention of his prolific shot-blocking. Mutombo was drafted into the All-Star team as a rookie, and he had 16.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, and almost three blocks per game.
Mutombo began to develop himself as one of the league's top defensive players, consistently putting up a lot of bounce and block numbers. Denver continued to grow with Mutombo as the franchise's mainstay during the 1993-94 season. Mutombo averaged 12.0 points per game, 11.8 rebounds per game, and 4.1 blocks per game during the season. He was a part of the Nuggets' 42-40 record and ranked eighth seed in the playoffs, despite that. In the first round, they were matched up with the top-seeded 63-19 Seattle SuperSonics.
Denver defeated a 0-2 deficit in the five-game series in order to pull off a big playoff upset, becoming the first seed to upset a number one seed in a NBA playoff series. Mutombo regained the game-winning bounce and collapsed to the ground, holding the ball over his head in a moment of triumph. Mutombo's defensive presence was crucial to the upset victory; his total of 31 blocks set a new record for a five-game series. The Nuggets fell 4-3 to the Utah Jazz in the second round of the playoffs.
He was selected for his second All-Star game and was named as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for his second year. But Denver was unable to capitalize on the previous playoff success, as Mutombo didn't have a solid supporting cast around him. Mutombo averaged 11.0 points per game, 11.8 rebounds per game, and a career-high 4.5 blocks per game during his last season with the Nuggets.
Mutombo became a free agent at the end of the 1995–96 season, and he reportedly requested a 10-year deal, which the Nuggets would not afford. Bernie Bickerstaff, then the Nuggets' general manager, expressed regret for not bringing back Mutombo, according to him later.
Mutombo signed a five-year, $55 million free agent contract with the Atlanta Hawks during the 1995–96 NBA season. In 1996–97 (56–26) and 1997–98 (50–32), Atlanta and Hawks All-Star Steve Smith led Atlanta to back-to-back 50+-win seasons. Both years, Mutombo has been named Defensive Player of the Year, with the Hawks putting up good defensive numbers. In the 1997 NBA Playoffs, the Hawks defeated the Detroit Pistons in five games. Mutombo led all scorers and rebounders, scoring 26 points and 15 rebounds respectively, in a 89-75 victory over the Pistons in Game 1 of the series. Despite Mutombo's double-double and 2.6 blocks per game, the Hawks lost in five games to the defending champion Chicago Bulls in the next round. Mutombo scored 20 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in a 105-102 loss to the Indiana Pacers on April 9, 1998. Mutombo and the Hawks were disappointed last season, despite having a similar track, Mutombo averaged just 8.8 points and 12.8 rebounds a game, while the Hawks lost to Charlotte Hornets three games to one in the first round, a disappointment for the Hawks. He was the NBA's Best Player of the Year Award, based on a computerized formula during the lockout-shortened 1999–99 season. The Mutombo finger waving was banned by the NBA in 2010, but after a period of resistance, he obeyed the new rule.
Mutombo averaged 11.5 points per game, his best-season with the Hawks, and 3.3 blocks per game during his 1999-00 season. Mutombo led to defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves by 27 points on 11-for-11 shooting from the field on December 14, 1999.
The Hawks traded Mutombo to the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers, as well as Roshown McLeod, in exchange for Pepe Sánchez, Toni Kuko, future teammate Nazr Mohammed, and injured center Theo Ratliff at the February 2001 trade deadline. Mutombo was a participant in the All-Star game a week earlier; he led the game with 22 rebounds and 3 blocks. The East soared from a 95–74 fourth-quarter deficit to win 111-110 on Mutombo and Iverson's strong results. Game MVP Allen Iverson and coach Larry Brown, both of the 76ers, were on hand. Following the game, rumors of a trade between Mutombo and Philadelphia began. With Ratliff out for the remainder of the year, the Sixers needed a big man to face Western Conference powers Vlade Divac, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, or Shaquille O'Neal, if they made it to the NBA Finals.
Mutombo received his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award this season in what was perhaps his best season as a pro. They defeated the Indiana Pacers in 4 games, the Toronto Raptors in 7 games, and the Milwaukee Bucks in a 7-game series during the 2001 Playoffs. Mutombo led to 23 points, 19 rebounds, and blocked 7 shots to win the game during Game 7 against the Bucks. Mutombo was a contributor to the Sixers' NBA Finals. The Sixers lost the next four games and the series after pulling off an upset and winning Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers (the only playoff game the Lakers lost in 2001). Matched up against Shaq, Mutombo's average of 16.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks was included. He re-signed with the Sixers after the season to a four-year, $68 million contract. He was a free agent.
The 2001-02 season saw a change in the Eastern conference hierarchy; the Sixers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs; the New Jersey Nets soared to the top of the standings, beating the Lakers in the finals.
The Nets sent future teammate Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch to Philadelphia in exchange for Mutombo, hoping for a big man to compete with Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan. Mutombo missed the majority of the season due to a nagging injury that limited him to only 24 games. During the Nets' second straight Finals appearance (they lost to the Spurs in six games), he was almost ineligible to participate in the playoffs, usually serving as the sixth man. The Nets bought out the remaining two years of his contract after a turbulent season in New Jersey.
In October 2003, he signed a two-year contract with the New York Knicks. Fans of the Knicks erupted when they witnessed a superb performance against the New Jersey Nets, which featured ten blocks, as a result of their tumultuous run, fans were pointing to Mutombo. After a referee told him that the gesture was not directed at a specific player, the league would not discipline him, he chose to act in kind. In August 2004, the Knicks traded him to the Chicago Bulls, alongside Cezary Trybaski, Othella Harrington, and Frank Williams in exchange for Jerome Williams and Jamal Crawford.
The Bulls traded Mutombo to the Houston Rockets prior to the 2004–05 season. Mike Wilks, Eric Piatkowski, and Adrian Griffin were among the Bulls' trades to the Houston Rockets before the 2004-05 season. Yao Ming and Mutombo made up one of NBA's most efficient center pairings. Mutombo's first season with the Rockets, he scored 15.2 MPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.0 PPG, and 1.3 BPG. In the first round against the Dallas Mavericks, the Rockets lost.
Mutombo won over the Denver Nuggets at age 40 on March 2, 2007, becoming the first NBA player to record more than 20 rebounds in a game.
Mutombo averaged double digits in rebounding as a starter in the 2007–08 season. Mutombo stepped in and helped the Rockets win 12 more games to snap a 22-game winning streak and a team record in the midst of a 10-game winning streak at the time of Yao's absence.
Mutombo shot 5 blocked shots and outlasted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in total blocked shots, trailing only Hakeem Olajuwon on January 10, 2008.
Mutombo signed with the Houston Rockets for the remainder of the 2008–09 season after considering retirement and spending the first part of 2008. He said that the 2009 would be his "farewell tour" and his last season; he was the NBA's oldest player in 2009. Mutombo played for 18 minutes against Portland in Game 1 of Houston's first-round playoff series against Portland, collecting nine rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.
Mutombo landed awkwardly and had to be carried from the ground in the 2nd quarter of Game 2. "It's over for me for my entire career," he said after the game, and that surgery would be required. In Game 2, it was later discovered that the quadriceps tendon of his left knee had been ruptured. Mutombo announced his retirement on April 23, 2009, after 18 years in NBA.