The NBA community is mourning the loss of Dikembe Mutombo, who passed away on Monday at the age of 58 from brain cancer.
The Basketball Hall of Famer was an eight-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year over 18 seasons with the Nuggets, Hawks, Sixers, Nets, Knicks and Rockets.
His number 55 was retired by Atlanta and Denver.
His son Ryan Mutumbo fondly remembered his father in an Instagram post, calling him a hero.
“My father will always be my hero.” Ryan wrote. “That's not because of his success, but because of the millions of people who have come to know and love him over the past 40 years.
“My father is my hero because he just cared. He continues to have the purest heart of anyone I've ever known.
“Sometimes I thought my father was a superhuman. The child inside me sighs when he hears that was never really the case. He was a normal person who would stop at nothing to show respect to others. He loved others with all his heart, and that's what made him so approachable. is.
“Dikembe Mutombo was salty and light, but today, September 30, 2024, he was asked to rest. We love you, Dad. Rest easy.”
Sixers general manager Daryl Morey was filled with emotion as he reflected on his relationship with Mutombo, who helped lead Philadelphia to its first NBA Finals in 18 years and won his fourth NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 2001. Ta.
“I knew him personally,” said Morey, who was the Rockets' GM in the late 2000s when Mutombo was on the team. He spoke at the Sixers' media day.
“We spent a number of seasons together and he's obviously important to the Sixers franchise as well. There aren't many guys like him. Just a great human being. When I was a rookie GM in this league , when he got his first chance in Houston, he was someone I always went to for his accomplishments on the court…but also a great human being — what he accomplished for Africa off the court. That…rest in peace, Dikembe.”
Raptors president Masai Ujiri couldn't hold back tears as he reacted to Mutombo's death during a media day press conference.
“It's just unbelievable… it's hard for us to not have that guy,” Ujiri said. “You have no idea what Dikembe Mutombo means to me.”
Stephen A. Smith paid tribute to Mutombo on Monday's “First Take,” remembering his philanthropic work off the court.
“Whatever we knew about him as a basketball player, he was an even better human being. Always giving money and always thinking about helping the Congo-Dominican Republic as well as being a humanitarian in the world. His heart was just big, big,” Smith said.
“One of the most beautiful, beautiful human beings I've ever known. It's really, really sad that he went through what he went through and ultimately lost the battle.”
Mutombo is survived by his wife, Rose, and their three children, in addition to the four he adopted from his brother after Rose's death.
