Dikembe Mutombo was a Congolese-American professional basketball player born June 25, 1966, in Kinshasa in what was then Zaire, who died on September 30, 2024. Drafted fourth overall by the Denver Nuggets in 1991, he played center in the NBA for 18 seasons, making eight All-Star teams and winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award a record-tying four times, while leading the league in blocked shots three times and rebounds twice; his 3,289 career blocked shots rank second in NBA history behind only Hakeem Olajuwon. He reached the NBA Finals with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001 and the New Jersey Nets in 2003, had his number 55 jersey retired by both the Denver Nuggets and the Atlanta Hawks, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Facts
Career HighlightWon the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times 1 Classification
Competition Category FAQs
Why did Dikembe Mutombo wag his finger?
He wagged his finger after emphatically denying an opponent's dunk attempt.
Mutombo wagged his finger after an emphatic denial of another dunk attempt, and the gesture became his signature. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame biography says he hung his hat on defense, patrolling the lane, which is why the finger wag followed his shot blocking.
Connections
Competed In
Source Wikipedia, Dikembe Mutombo
Plays
Source Wikipedia, Dikembe Mutombo
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Dikembe Mutombo
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Dikembe Mutombo
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Dikembe Mutombo
Introduction, sentence 1, birth date
June 25, 1966
Introduction, sentence 1, death date
September 30, 2024
Infobox: birth_date
June 25, 1966
Infobox: death_date
September 30, 2024
Infobox, nationality
Congolese / American
Introduction, paragraph 3, sentence 3
He received the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times
Introduction
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 - September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player who played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons.
Competed In: National Basketball Association, Lead paragraph (competition)
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966, September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player who played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons.
View the SourceWikidata: Dikembe Mutombo
Wikidata Q313481, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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