RIP, Dikembe Mutombo
Remembering not only a great center, but a great humanitarian.
Dikembe Mutombo — a great center but, more importantly, a great humanitarian — passed away today at the age of 58 from brain cancer. Here are 18 facts about Mutombo, one for each season of his legendary career:
Mutombo was a four-time Defensive Player of the Year Award winner, tying him with Ben Wallace and Rudy Gobert for the most such selections in NBA history (the honor was first handed out in 1982-83). Mutombo also finished as runner-up in the balloting once and in third place four times.
Mutombo was a two-time winner of the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, which is given to a given to a player, coach, or staff member who shows “outstanding service and dedication to the community.” He’s the only multi-time winner of the award.
Mutombo was an eight-time All-Star selection, earning four nods with the Atlanta Hawks, three with the Denver Nuggets, and one with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Mutombo was a six-time All-Defensive selection, earning three First Team nods and three Second Team nods.
Mutombo was a three-time All-NBA selection, taking home Second Team honors in 2000-01 and Third Team honors in 1997-98 and 2001-02.
Mutombo was an All-Rookie First Team selection in 1991-92, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year Award voting to Larry Johnson. Mutombo averaged a career-high 16.6 PPG, 12.3 RPG, and 3.0 BPG that season.
Mutombo blocked 3,289 shots in his career, good for second on the NBA’s all-time list (the league began tracking blocks in 1973-74). His career rate of 2.75 BPG ranks seventh among players with at least 400 games played.
Mutombo was the league leader in blocks five times, all coming in consecutive seasons (1993-94 through 1997-98). He’s the only player to lead the league in this category five times, consecutive seasons or not.
Mutombo recorded at least 100 blocks in a season for five different franchises, the most in NBA history (Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets).
Mutombo recorded double-digit blocks in a game 13 times, the third-most such games since the NBA began tracking the statistic in 1973-74. The only players ahead of him are Mark Eaton and Manute Bol, each with 18.
Mutombo recorded 10 career triple-doubles, all of them via points, rebounds, and blocks. The only other player to officially record at least 10 such games is Hakeem Olajuwon (also 10).
Mutombo led the NBA in rebounds four times, all coming within a six-season span from 1994-95 though 1999-00. He was also the league leader in rebounds per game in the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons.
Mutombo ranks 13th all time in offensive rebounds with 3,808; 14th all time in defensive rebounds with 8,551; and 21st all time in total rebounds with 12,359 (the former two statistics have been tracked since the 1973-74 season).
Mutombo averaged a double-double in each of the first 11 seasons of his career, appearing in at least 70% of his team’s games in each of those campaigns. Only four other players in NBA history have started their career with 11 such seasons in a row: Elvin Hayes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, and Tim Duncan.
Mutombo’s 1993-94 Denver Nuggets became the first eighth seed in NBA playoff history to knock off a number-one seed. The Nuggets trailed the Seattle SuperSonics in the best-of-five series 0-2 before rallying to win the final three games. Mutombo recorded 15 rebounds and eight blocks in the series-clinching win.
Mutombo played 123 games after his 40th birthday. He’s one of only five players in NBA history to appear in at least 100 games after turning 40 years old, the others being Robert Parish (272), Vince Carter (227), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (156), and Kevin Willis (153).
Mutombo’s number 55 has been retired by both the Atlanta Hawks (November 24, 2015) and the Denver Nuggets (October 29, 2016).
Mutombo was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 11, 2015.