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Today we’d like to pay tribute to a person the city of Houston has adopted as a local basketball hero, Dikembe Mutombo. Formally known as Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo, the Congo Native joined the Houston Rockets in 2004. The 7 ft 2 in center joined the team after a storied career in the NBA that took him to Denver, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York.

Motumbo,  an NBA veteran with 18 years experience and the distinction of being the oldest player in the NBA, never played like an old man with the Rockets. In a league where players oftentimes tank games and act like prima donnas after getting paid, Dikembe has continued to serve as a an example for his younger teammates. He has also been instrumental in mentoring Rockets star Yao Ming on his way to becoming arguably the best center in the NBA.

Now, after a gruesome knee injury suffered In the second quarter of the Rockets game two loss to the Portland Trailblazers in the first round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs, Dikembe Motumbo has announced his retirement from the game of basketball. The NBA, Houston Rockets, and most of all, his fans will miss the raspy-voice, the finger-wagging center for everything he has done for all of us.

Dikembe Mutombo – The Basketball Player – Highlights

• 4-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001
• 8-time NBA All-Star: 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002
• 3-time All-NBA:

·         Second Team: 2001

·         Third Team: 1998, 2002

• 6-time All-Defensive:

·         First Team: 1997, 1998, 2001

·         Second Team: 1995, 1999, 2002

• NBA All-Rookie First Team: 1992
• 2nd on All-Time NBA recorded Blocks, 3.256.
• 2-time NBA regular-season leader, rebounding average: 2000 (14.1), 2001 (13.5)
• 4-time NBA regular-season leader, total rebounds: 1995 (1029), 1997 (929), 1999 (610), 2000 (1157)
• NBA regular-season leader, offensive rebounds: 2001 (307)
• 2-time NBA regular-season leader, defensive rebounds: 1999 (418), 2000 (853)
• 3-time NBA regular-season leader, blocked shots average: 1994 (4.1), 1995 (3.9), 1996 (4.5)
• 5-time NBA regular-season leader, total blocks: 1994 (336), 1995 (321), 1996 (332), 1997 (264), 1998 (277)
• Career averages (as of March 2008): 9.9 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 2.7 BPG
• Invited to be a special guest at President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address, commended for his humanitarian aid to his homeland.
• Oldest player in NBA history to collect over 20 rebounds in a game (March 2 2007 vs. Denver Nuggets)

Dikembe  Mutombo – The Humanitarian – Highlights

• Graduated from Georgetown with a B.A. in linguistics and diplomacy.
• He and his wife have six children, four adopted.
• Mutombo is able to speak English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and five African languages.
• Started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997.
• NBA’s humanitarian award in 2001.
• Paid for uniforms and expenses for the Zaire women’s basketball team during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.
• Mutombo is a spokesman for the international relief agency, CARE (relief) and is the first Youth Emissary for the United Nations Development Program.
• Invited to President George W. Bush’s 2007 State of the Union Address and was referred to as a “son of the Congo” by the President in his speech.
• Funded the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in Kinshasa, the first modern medical facility to be built in that area in nearly 40 years.

The Funniest Dikembe Mutombo Video You’ll Ever Watch

This entry was posted on April 22, 2009 at 1:19 pm and is filed under Sports. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Congo, Dikembe Mutombo, Foundation, Georgetown, Houston Rockets, humanitarian, international relief, knee injury, NBA, olympic games, retirement, United Nations