This is an accepted version of this page Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player.

A 7-foot-2-inch (2.18 m) center, Mutombo moved to the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo at age 21 to attend Georgetown University with the hope of eventually earning a medical degree and returning to the DRC to practice medicine.

[10] For high school, Dikembe Mutombo went to Boboto College in Kinshasa to lay the groundwork for his medical career as the classes were more challenging there.

[17] Building on the shot-blocking power of Mutombo and teammate Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown fans created a "Rejection Row" section under the basket, adding a big silhouette of an outstretched hand to a banner for each shot blocked during the game.

Like many other Washington-area college students, he served as a summer intern, once for Robert Matsui, a member of the Congress of the United States from California, and once at the World Bank.

[24] The Nuggets ranked last in the NBA in opponent points-per-game and Defensive Rating,[25] and Mutombo's shot-blocking ability made an immediate impression across the league.

[29] Mutombo quickly began to establish himself as one of the league's best defensive players, regularly putting up big rebound and block numbers.

[31] At the end of Game 5, Mutombo memorably grabbed the game-winning rebound and fell to the ground, holding the ball over his head in a moment of joy.

[33] At the conclusion of the 1995–96 season, Mutombo became a free agent, and reportedly sought a ten-year contract, something the Nuggets considered impossible to offer.

On December 14, 1999, Mutombo scored 27 points, on 11-for-11 shooting from the field, grabbed a season-high 29 rebounds and recorded a game-high six blocks to pull out the win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

[45] With Ratliff out for the remainder of the year, the Sixers needed a big man to compete with potential matchups against Western Conference powers Vlade Divac, Tim Duncan, David Robinson or Shaquille O'Neal, should they reach the NBA Finals.

[48] The 2001–02 season marked the final time in Mutombo's career that he averaged double-digit points or rebounds, as he started 80 games for Philadelphia, although they lost in the first round of the playoffs.

[49] The Nets were coming off a sweep in the Finals where they were overmatched by Shaq, and brought in Mutombo as the missing piece to a championship,[50] similar to what the Sixers did two seasons prior.

[51] He was generally unable to play in the playoffs, typically serving as a sixth man during the Nets' second consecutive Finals run, in which they lost to the Spurs in six games.

[54] After a dominant performance against the crosstown rival New Jersey Nets that included 10 blocks, Knicks fans began waving their fingers, as Mutombo once did.

[55] Prior to the 2004–05 season, the Bulls traded Mutombo to the Houston Rockets for Mike Wilks, Eric Piatkowski and Adrian Griffin.

[57] On March 2, 2007, in a win over the Denver Nuggets at age 40, Mutombo became the oldest player in NBA history to record more than 20 rebounds in a game, with 22.

[58] In the 2007–08 season, Mutombo received extensive playing time when Yao went down with a broken bone and averaged double digits in rebounding as a starter.

[59][60] After contemplating retirement and spending the first part of 2008 as an unsigned free agent, on December 31, 2008, Mutombo signed with the Houston Rockets for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.

Mutombo", his combination of height, power and long arms led to a record-tying four NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, a feat equaled only by Ben Wallace and Rudy Gobert.

To avoid the technical foul, Mutombo took to waving his finger at the crowd or the TV cameras after a block, which is not considered taunting by the rules.

[67] Additionally, he was known for injuring several NBA players including Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Patrick Ewing, Chauncey Billups, Ray Allen, Yao Ming, LeBron James and Tracy McGrady due to his practice of flailing his elbows.

[72] In 1987, Mutombo's 6-foot-10-inch (2.08 m) older brother, Ilo, began playing college basketball in Division II for the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles as a 26-year-old freshman.

[91][94][95] Mutombo made a cameo appearance in the 2002 films Juwanna Mann and Like Mike, which mentioned his name in its theme song "Basketball".

[96][97] In 2012, his voice and likeness were used in a 16-bit-style Flash game released by Old Spice humorously titled Dikembe Mutombo's 4 1/2 Weeks to Save the World.

[98] Mutombo appeared in a GEICO auto insurance commercial in February 2013, parodying his shot-blocking ability by applying it to real world situations.

His work has improved the health of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center is a model for the region.

"[109] In 2020, the Mutombo Foundation began construction of a modern pre-K through 6th-grade school in the Democratic Republic of Congo, named for his father, who died in 2003.

He worked with Sam Perkins to lead a series of basketball clinics and team-building exercises with 50 youths and 36 coaches helping contribute to the State Department's mission to remove barriers and create a world in which individuals with disabilities enjoy dignity and full inclusion in society.

[119] In 2021, he created an eponymous coffee company, initially focused on the Congo to foster women growers' participation in international commerce.