Former Congolese-born NBA star and humanitarian Dikembe Mutombo has died at the age of 58 years in Atlanta. He was diagnosed with brain cancer a few years ago.
Born Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacques Wamutombo on 25 June 1966 in Kinshasa, Mutombo went as a scholarship international student to Georgetown University in the United States in 1987 with ambitions of becoming a medical doctor.
Known for his trademark finger wag, he played 18 seasons for six teams and retired with a record of the second-most blocked shots in league history behind Hakeem Olajuwon.
He dedicated his life to humanitarian work in his native Democratic Republic of Congo, building a hospital named after his mother, Biamba Marie—who died at home in 1998 after suffering a stroke and unable to get medical care due to a government curfew—and a school named after his father, among other things.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, he worked with medical experts to promote vaccines in Africa and North America. His philanthropic work included being a spokesman for CARE and serving on several corporate boards. Mutombo was the first designated global ambassador of the NBA and assisted in forming a professional basketball league in Africa.
Mutombo was the seventh of 10 children and became an American citizen in 2006. He had three children with his wife, Rose, and adopted four children of his deceased siblings.
