Dikembe Mutombo, an NBA Hall of Famer who called for everyone to take the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, has died from a rapid form of cancer at the age of 58, the NBA said in a statement on Monday.
Mutombo was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2022.
“Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.
“On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the NBA. Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.”
Silver remembered Mutombo as being known for charitable acts in his native Democratic Republic of Congo and throughout Africa.
“Dikembe’s indomitable spirit continues on in those who he helped and inspired thoughout his extraordinary life,” Silver added.
“I am one of the many people whose lives were touched by Dikembe’s big heart and I will miss him dearly. On behalf of the entire NBA family, I send my deepest condolences to Dikembe’s wife, Rose, and their children; his many friends; and the global basketball community which he truly love and which loved him back.”
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Mutombo, a star player at Georgetown who once blocked 12 shots in a single game, became a two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year winner and shared it with teammate Alonzo Mourning in 1991.
The Denver Nuggets selected Mutombo with the No. 4 overall pick, and he shot to fame as a star defender.
“In the beginning, I would shake my head and tell the people, ‘Man cannot fly in the house of Mutombo.’ I felt I was a chief, I was the boss, and nobody could come into the paint unless they knocked on the door and asked permission to come in,” he told GQ in 2009.
“I felt that way for so long, and it was not so many people who dunked on Dikembe Mutombo. I don’t remember which year, but soon I felt the finger waving would be a great signature.”
Touching tributes poured in for Mutombo on social media:
