Mutombo was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1991 and quickly established himself as a dominant defensive force in the NBA. He was a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, eight-time All-Star, and led the league in blocks for five consecutive seasons. He was also a three-time NBA blocks leader and a two-time NBA rebounds leader.
Mutombo was known for his signature finger wag, which he would do after blocking a shot. He was also known for his humanitarian work, founding the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997 to improve the health, education, and quality of life for people in his native Congo.
Mutombo played for six different teams during his career, including the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, and the Toronto Raptors. He retired in 2009 after 18 seasons in the NBA.
Mutombo was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive players of all time. He is remembered for his defensive prowess, his humanitarian work, and his signature finger wag.
🏀
Related Content
Stories, Photos, Videos, Podcasts, and Publications featuring Dikembe Mutombo BiographyF i l t e r & S o r t Filter & Sort
A 3-on-3 Blacktop Sim game where the Denver Nuggets' legends of different eras collide. On...
Denver Nuggets • Thompson/English/Mutumbo vs Iverson/Carmelo/Jokic - 3-on-3 Blacktop Simulation / A 3-on-3 Blacktop Sim game where the Denver Nuggets' legends of different eras collide. On one side, we've got the dynamic trio of David Thompson, Alex English, and Dikembe Mutombo, each a star in their own right, representing the Nuggets' past. Thompson, known for his high-flying dunks and scoring prowess in the 70s and early 80s, English, the smooth-shooting forward who dominated the 80s, and Mutombo, the defensive stalwart of the 90s. On the other side, we have the modern Nuggets' icons - Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, and Nikola Jokic. Iverson, the electrifying point guard who had a brief but impactful stint with the Nuggets in the late 2000s, Anthony, the scoring machine who was the face of the franchise from the mid-2000s to early 2010s, and Jokic, the versatile center who's been making waves in the NBA today. This game provides a unique opportunity to see how these different generations of Nuggets' stars would match up against each other.