I was gonna write some voodoo tonight, but there's enough bad juju going around the NBA. In Game 2 against Portland, Houston's Dikembe Mutombo went down with a left knee injury and had to be taken off the court on a stretcher. The injury was first called a knee sprain, but reports from Oregon are now quoting Mutombo as needing surgery. The Oregonian quotes Dikembe Mutombo: "I'm going to need surgery. For me, basketball is over. I cried so much about it when I was laying on the floor." (via Truehoop) I didn't see the game, but word is the players surrounding the prone Mutombo were very concerned and emotional. No video on the 'net yet of the injury occurring, but you can rubber neck at train wrecks on someone else's time. For me, I want to look at all the good that has been Mutombo's career in the league. Above is a video the rockets put together last year, when it looked like he might retire after 07-08.
Some quick notes about Mutombo's outstanding achievements.
Mutombo came to Georgetown in 1988 as a pre-med student. He hadn't intended to play basketball, but John Thompson recruited him.
His full name is Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo. That would be my formal recommendation to the Great Sports Names Hall of Fame, by the way.
He made 8 all-star bids and won defensive player of the year 4 times, the last of which came in 2001 on the way to a finals appearance with the Philadelphia 76ers.
He also played a significant role in the Rockets' 21 game win steak in '07, standing in for the injured Yao Ming.
He is 2nd all-time in blocks.
His finger wag is one of the iconic gestures of 90's basketball.
He created the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in his homeland The Democratic Republic of the Congo. The foundation was created to help improve living conditions, including a 9.6 per cent infant mortality rate.
He funded and helped build the $29 million Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in Kinshasha, his hometown. George Bush recognized Mutombo's efforts in the 2007 state of the union address.
He was also inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in 2007.
The title Mt. Mutombo is fitting, in that Dikembe was such a pillar of excellence, humility, and compassion. It's rare that you think of an athlete's work lasting beyond his career and the occasional retrospective highlight reel, but Mutombo's impact on the world and on basketball's consciousness of the world have been truly memorable. And yet, this too is not the entire story to Deke's time with the NBA. Not only was he an important player and incredible humanitarian, but he also proved to be a light-hearted soul whose raspy voice and rumbly laugh could light up a room like the sun sitting on the shoulders of a mountain. There are anynumberoffunMutombovideos floating around the interweb, but my favorite is AWOL. I loved the commercial where he stood up and introduced himself to a room full of execs, perhaps humanitarians like himself or perhaps big wigs for insurance companies, I don't remember. But I liked it because they all seemed so astounded that this monumental man was in their midst, and if any NBA player was to astound that kind of crowd with his accomplishments as well as his stature, I'd want it to be Dikembe Mutombo. Here's another commercial he did, though, that showcases his multi-lingual capabilities.
