Dikembe Mutombo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Position | Center |
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| Height | 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) |
| Weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
| Team | Houston Rockets |
| Nationality |  Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Born | June 25, 1966 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| College | Georgetown |
| Draft | 4th overall, 1991 Denver Nuggets |
| Pro career | 1991 – present |
| Former teams | Denver Nuggets 1991–95 Atlanta Hawks 1996–00 Philadelphia 76ers 2000–01 New Jersey Nets 2002 New York Knicks 2003 |
| Awards |
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Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacques Wamutombo, more commonly known as Dikembe Mutombo (born June 25, 1966 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a basketball player in the NBA, playing as reserve center for the Houston Rockets. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest shotblockers and defensive players of all time, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times. He is 7 ft 2 in tall (218 centimetres) and weighs 260 pounds (118 kilograms). He is a member of the Luba ethnic group.
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[edit] Basketball career
[edit] Georgetown University
Mutombo originally intended to become a doctor; he attended Georgetown University on a USAID scholarship. Georgetown Hoyas basketball coach John Thompson convinced him to play basketball. He became an excellent college center, continuing Georgetown's tradition of producing great big men. He was a celebrated shot blocker at Georgetown, setting a team record of twelve blocked shots in a single game. Building on the shot-blocking power of Mutombo and teammate Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown fans created a "Rejection Row" section under the basket, adding a big silhouette of an outstretched hand to a banner for each shot blocked during the game. While at Georgetown, Mutombo's international background and interests stood out. Like many other Washington-area college students, he served as a summer intern, once for the Congress of the United States and once for the World Bank. Dikembe Mutombo was a celebrated superstar in his native country of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), and was scouted by the famed Jarryd Halberstadt. He attended a Salvation Army school from 6th to 11th grade.
[edit] Denver Nuggets
Selected fourth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1991 NBA Draft, Mutombo's impact was immediate. As a rookie, he was selected for the All-Star team by averaging 16.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, and nearly three blocks per game. A cornerstone in the Nuggets' frontcourt, Dikembe became one of the league's best defensive players, regularly putting up big rebound and block numbers for five years with the club while averaging 11 or so points a game. The team lacked other great players to team up with him, however, and at its best won only 42 games, in his third season. However, that season, it pulled off a major playoff upset by stunning the top-seeded Seattle SuperSonics in the first round, the first eighth seed to win an NBA playoff series. Mutombo's defensive presence was the key to this upset victory. His total of 31 blocks remains a record for a five-game series. The following season, he received the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
[edit] Atlanta Hawks
After the 1995-96 NBA season, Mutombo's contract with the Nuggets expired, and he signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Hawks. Mutombo continued to put up excellent defensive numbers with his new team. Joining the Hawks made him more noticeable, helping him win two more Defensive Player of the Year awards and several All-Defensive Team selections. He also became fairly well known for his signature finger waggle, which he would point at a player's direction after he had blocked that player's shot. During the lockout-shortened 1999 season, he was the NBA's IBM Award winner, a player of the year award determined by a computerized formula.
[edit] Philadelphia 76ers
The Hawks fell from grace afterwards, and Mutombo was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers were he didn't spend much time but, in February 2001. He earned his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award that season and was in the prime of his career. That season he also earned a trip to the NBA Finals, where the 76ers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one. A free-agent, he re-signed with the Sixers after the season. While his statistics were comparable in the 2001-02 season, the Sixers dealt him to the New Jersey Nets, fearing that his game had deteriorated.
[edit] New Jersey Nets
The Nets were looking for a more physical big man to compete with Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan, two of the best big men in the league who also led championship-caliber teams in the West. Unfortunately, Mutombo spent most of that season with a nagging injury that limited him to just 24 games. He was generally unable to play in the playoffs, typically serving as a twelfth man during the Nets' second consecutive Finals run.
[edit] New York Knicks
In October 2003, the Nets bought out the remainder of his contract and subsequently waived him. He signed a two-year deal with the New York Knicks a few days later. The Knicks later traded him to the Chicago Bulls in a package for Jamal Crawford. He never played a game for the Bulls and they dealt him to the Houston Rockets in the 2004 offseason.
[edit] Houston Rockets
In the twilight of his career, Mutombo is for the first time a backup center. He currently plays as a reserve behind Yao Ming, forming one of the NBA's most feared center combos. In his first season with the Rockets ('04-'05), Mutombo averaged 15.2 MPG, 5.3 RPG, and 4.0 PPG. However, despite the stellar play of Tracy McGrady, the Rockets lost in the first round against the Dallas Mavericks.
[edit] Controversy
During a exhibition game on October 26, 2006 against the Orlando Magic, a Magic fan taunted Mutombo, calling him "monkey face" and a "big monkey". This infuriated Mutombo, who said next time he would have entered the stands. The fan was immediately escorted out of the the arena. The fan later apologized to Mutombo sending him a letter. The fan thought his statement wasn't offensive when he said it. The fan promised he will not attend any Magic games until he has Mutombo's approval to do so.[1]
[edit] Charity efforts
A well-known humanitarian, Mutombo started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. His efforts earned him the NBA's humanitarian award in 2001. In the same year, ground was broken for a hospital in his hometown, the Congolese capital of Kinshasa. When it opened in 2004, it became the first modern medical facility to be built in that area in nearly 40 years. He personally donated $3.5 million toward the hospital's construction. On August 14, 2006, Dikembe donated $15M to the $29 million Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in the Congo, which is named for his mother.[1]
[edit] Trivia
- After a successful block, Dikembe was known for taunting his opponents by waving his index finger, like a parent would reproach a disobedient child, which would sometimes incur a technical foul on him.
- Mutombo is fluent in nine languages[2], including: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Lingala, Tshiluba and three other Central African languages.
- Known for his engaging personality, Mutombo was selected to an NBA All-Interview team in 2002. When Georgetown was playing Duke University in the 1989 NCAA tournament, many Georgetown fans enjoyed poking fun at the occasionally elitist Duke fans by noting that he alone spoke more languages than the entire Duke team and coaches.
- Mutombo is one of two NBA players to wear the largest basketball shoes, size 22 (the other being Shaquille O'Neal).[citation needed]
- Dikembe Mutombo, then a rookie for the Denver Nuggets, dared Michael Jordan if he could make a free throw with his eyes closed. Jordan closed his eyes, swished the shot through, and told Mutombo, "Welcome to the NBA."
- In the 1997 NBA playoffs, Mutombo pointed out that Michael Jordan had never dunked on him. Jordan later received a pass from Luc Longley, soared to the basket, and slammed the ball over Mutombo's reaching hand. Jordan waved a finger at the center, mimicking Mutombo's famous antic which the NBA had deemed taunting, and took the technical foul.
- Mutombo is attributed with coining the phrase, "Who wants to sex Mutombo?" while seated at the bar near the entrance to The Tombs, Georgetown's famous student bar, which he allegedly developed as a pick-up line during his Georgetown days. The phrase has achieved cult status among basketball fans of both genders, though there is no evidence he ever said it and it is likely an urban legend.[citation needed]
- During the Denver Nuggets playoff runs in the mid-1990s, NFL great John Elway (a quarterback for the Denver Broncos) would address the Nuggets crowd on the public address microphone before home games at McNichols Arena to pump up the crowd by shouting "Now lets get ready to Mu-tooooooom-boooooooo!" This occurred several times.[citation needed]
- At age 40, he is currently the oldest active player in the league.
[edit] Career summary and highlights
- 4-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001
- 8-time NBA All-Star: 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002
- 3-time All-NBA:
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- Second Team: 2001
- Third Team: 1998, 2002
- 6-time All-Defensive:
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- First Team: 1997, 1998, 2001
- Second Team: 1995, 1999, 2002
- NBA All-Rookie First Team: 1992
- 2-time NBA regular-season leader, rebounding average: 2000 (14.1), 2001 (13.5)
- 4-time NBA regular-season leader, total rebounds: 1995 (1029), 1997 (929), 1999 (610), 2000 (1157)
- NBA regular-season leader, offensive rebounds: 2001 (307)
- 2-time NBA regular-season leader, defensive rebounds: 1999 (418), 2000 (853)
- 3-time NBA regular-season leader, blocking average: 1994 (4.1), 1995 (3.9), 1996 (4.5)
- 5-time NBA regular-season leader, total blocks: 1994 (336), 1995 (321), 1996 (332), 1997 (264), 1998 (277)
- Was a key player of one of the biggest upsets in NBA history, when the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets eliminated the first-seeded Seattle SuperSonics in the 1994 playoffs.
- Career averages (as of March 2006): 10.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.9 BPG
[edit] References
- ^ Sports Illustrated, September 4, 2006; Steve Rushin's Air and Space.
- ^ http://www.dmf.org/About.html
[edit] External links
- NBA profile
- Charting damage by Dikembe
- Dikembe Mutombo Foundation
- ClutchFans.net Dikembe Mutombo Profile - Houston Rocket Fan Site
- On the Shoulders Of A Giant, TIME magazine Europe, April 20, 2003
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | 1966 births | Atlanta Hawks players | Basketball players of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Chicago Bulls | Denver Nuggets players | Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players | Houston Rockets players | Living people | New Jersey Nets players | New York Knicks players | Philadelphia 76ers players | NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winners | Polyglots
