After blocking a shot, Dikembe Mutombo would wag his index finger at the player he had just stopped. “Not in my house,” the gesture said. It became one of the most famous celebrations in basketball.
Mutombo was born in Kinshasa, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 25 June 1966. He came to the United States on a scholarship to Georgetown University, planning to become a doctor. Georgetown’s coach, John Thompson, saw a 7 foot 2 inch athlete and recruited him to the basketball team.
The NBA
The Denver Nuggets picked Mutombo fourth in the 1991 draft. In 1994, Denver became the first eighth-seeded team to beat a top seed in the playoffs, knocking out the Seattle SuperSonics. The image of Mutombo lying on the floor, clutching the ball above his head in joy after the final game, became one of the NBA’s iconic photographs.
He went on to play for the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, playing until he was in his forties.
The records
Mutombo won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times, a record he shares with Ben Wallace and later Rudy Gobert. He was an eight-time All-Star and retired second on the all-time career blocks list, behind Hakeem Olajuwon. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
The hospital
In 1997, Mutombo’s mother, Biamba Marie Mutombo, suffered a stroke in Kinshasa and died. She could not reach a hospital because of a curfew during unrest. Mutombo spent years raising money for a hospital in her memory. The Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital opened in Kinshasa in 2007, with Mutombo contributing millions of dollars of his own money.
Ambassador
Mutombo worked as the NBA’s global ambassador and was involved in humanitarian efforts, including health campaigns and the Basketball Without Borders programme in Africa. He was known for his deep voice, his warmth and his many languages; he spoke English, French and several African languages.
Death
Mutombo died on 30 September 2024 at the age of 58, after treatment for brain cancer. Tributes came from across basketball and from the Congo.
Legacy
For African players who followed him into the NBA, Mutombo showed a path: excellence on the court and responsibility off it.
He came to America to become a doctor. He built a hospital instead.
