Dikembe Mutombo Retires, NBA Loses a Class Act

I met Dikimbe Mutombo years ago in Paris, France. I was on vacation visiting Euro Disney when a very tall man walked toward me. Most of the people around me were looking at the man, because the 7 footer stood out in the crowd. I recognized him, but I didn't want to bother him, so I didn't approach him. Later in the day I would meet up with Mutombo again, he was signing autographs in a little store and I finally got a chance to talk to him.

We talked about Georgetown and I asked him if he was worried about the program since Allen Iverson had declared himself eligible for the draft that year. Mutombo said he wasn't worried, "You know the program, we'll be fine." We spoke for a few more minutes about the NBA and college basketball. I walked away thinking, what a nice, smart man. He was so pleasant and had a great laugh and warm smile. He was unlike some of the NBA players I had encountered, who ran when fans approached them for autographs.

Mutombo was always a class act through his long NBA career, which began in 1991 when he was drafted with the 4th pick by the Denver Nuggets. Mutombo was a tough, hard working player, who didn't have the greatest offensive stats, but played incredible defense, earning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, four times in his career. Mutombo's work ethic and off the court behavior should be looked on as a role model for some of the younger players in the league.

Apart from his years of service on the court, Mutombo has spent a lot of time and money on humanitarian efforts. In 2001, he received the NBA humanitarian award and he's also created the Dikimbe Mutombo foundation, which built a hospital in Kinshasa, Congo. It would take a larger article then this, to list everything Mutombo has done for those in need.

When Mutombo went down with a knee injury in the Rockets playoff game against the Trail Blazers Tuesday, the NBA lost one of the classiest men ever to play the game. Though he will no longer be working on an NBA court, I'm sure Mutombo will remain active in his effort to help Africa and other places and people in need. I wish Mutombo luck in his post NBA life, the world needs more people like, Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo.

Sources:

http://dncworldwide.com/2009/04/22/dikembe-mutombo-retires-from-the-nba/
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2735070
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/dikembe_mutombo/bio.html