Congolese-American basketball center Dikembe Mutombo succumbed to death at the age of 58 due to brain cancer last Monday, September 30 (local time).
National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the death of the Global Ambassador and Hall of Famer in a post.
“There was nobody more qualified than Dikembe to serve as the NBA’s first Global Ambassador. He was a humanitarian at his core. He loved what the game of basketball could do to make a positive impact on communities, especially in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo and across the continent of Africa,” Silver stated in his message.
During his heyday, Mutombo had a dominating presence in Georgetown before playing for six NBA teams: Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, News Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets.
He played for 18 NBA seasons with different teams where he proved his strength in the defense area from 1991 until he retired from his game after the 2008-09 season of the NBA.
Mutombo, being a four-time NBA defensive player of the year, ended with 3,289 counts of blocks from his entire game career in the basketball association. -VC
