Dikembe Mutombo, NBA legend and Hall of Famer, dies of brain cancer at age 58

Hall of Famer, humanitarian and legendary shot blocker Dikembe Mutombo has died at age 58, the NBA announced Monday. The cause of death was brain cancer, which he was diagnosed with in October 2022. Mutombo was surrounded by his family when he died.

Mutombo, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, developed into one of the best defensive players of all time over the course of his 18-year career. He played for a total of six teams, but spent most of his time with the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets. (He spent more than one season with the Philadelphia 76ers and one season each with the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks.) He was an eight-time All-Star and four-time Defensive Player of the Year. He led the NBA in blocks in 1994, 1995 and 1996 and in rebounds in 2000 and 2001. Both the Hawks and Nuggets retired his number and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

Born Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacque Wamutombo in 1966, Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacque Wamutombo had originally planned to become a doctor and study medicine at Georgetown before being recruited to play basketball by legendary coach John Thompson. He graduated in 1991 with a degree in linguistics and diplomacy, but after the Nuggets selected him fourth overall, there was no doubt that his future lay in basketball, not international relations.

Of course, you can’t talk about Mutombo without mentioning the finger wag. Mutombo would wag his finger with the famous “No, no, no” when executing a particularly brutal block.

The finger wag became larger than life and Mutombo was there. He’s done it in photos, he’s done it on the red carpet, he’s done it in commercials. It became a part of him and, like life itself, he embraced it.

After Mutombo’s retirement from the NBA in 2009, he focused on philanthropy and humanitarianism and wanted to give back to his home country and the entire African continent. He founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997 (12 years before his retirement) to improve living conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has received numerous awards from the NBA and other organizations for his work in Africa to improve conditions and expand to curb polio.

Mutombo’s son Ryan posted a touching tribute to his father on Instagram.

Commissioner Adam Silver, who named Mutombo as the NBA’s first global ambassador, released a statement on his friend’s death.

Mutombo is survived by his wife Rose, their three children and four children of Rose’s late brothers, who adopted her in 1996.