Dikembe Mutombo, a Hall of Fame player and tireless advocate, dies at 58: NPR

Retired Denver Nuggets center Dikembe Mutombo waves to the crowd as his jersey number was retired by the team during halftime of the Nuggets' NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, in Denver.

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Dikembe Mutombo, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, one of the greatest defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday of brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58.

His family announced two years ago that he was being treated for a brain tumor in Atlanta. The NBA said he died surrounded by his family.

“Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in NBA history. Even off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.”

Mutombo was distinctive in many ways – the playful waving of his finger after blocking his shots, his height, his deep and gravelly voice, his broad smile. Players of this generation have always been drawn to him and Cameroon-born Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid considered Mutombo an inspiration.

“It's a sad day, especially for us Africans and actually the whole world,” Embiid said Monday. “Aside from what he accomplished on the basketball court, I think he was even better off the court. He's one of the guys I look up to because he can make a difference not only on the field but also off the field. He did a lot of great things. He did a lot of great things for a lot of people. He was a role model for me. It’s a sad day.”

Mutombo spent 18 seasons in the NBA, playing for Denver, Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, New York and the then-New Jersey Nets. The 7-foot-2 center from Georgetown was selected to the All-Stars eight times and All-NBA three times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015 after averaging 9.8 points and 10.3 rebounds in his career scored per game.

He was also part of one of the league's most iconic playoff moments when he helped eighth-seeded Denver oust top-seeded Seattle in the first round of the 1994 Western Conference playoffs. This best-of-five series marked the first time in NBA history that a No. 8 seed defeated a No. 1 seed.

“It's really hard to believe,” Toronto President Masai Ujiri said Monday, pausing several times as he was overcome with emotion shortly after news of Mutombo's death. “It's hard for us to get by without this guy.” You have no idea what Dikembe Mutombo meant to me. … This guy made us who we are. This guy is a giant, an incredible person.”

Mutombo last played in the 2008/09 season and dedicated his time to charitable and humanitarian causes after his retirement. He spoke nine languages ​​and founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, which focuses on improving the health, education and quality of life of the people of Congo.

And occasionally, as LeBron James pointed out with a laugh on Monday, Mutombo hasn't necessarily improved the health of others.

Dikembe Mutombo, then playing for the Atlanta Hawks, drives to the basket against Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls during the second quarter of a playoff game on May 8, 1997 in Chicago.

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“My favorite memory of Dikembe Mutombo? He broke my face with an elbow on my birthday in Cleveland,” Los Angeles Lakers star James said while taking a few minutes to pay tribute to Mutombo’s life on Monday. “I never had the chance to tell him about it. But yes. I can’t remember how old…I was in Cleveland, my first time there, and I think I turned maybe 22?”

“I went to the hole and caught one of those Dikembe elbows, and if anyone knows about the Dikembe elbows, they don’t feel good. He broke my face and I went to the hospital that night and wore a mask for a while. That’s my memory of Dikembe,” James said.

James was aware of the details: On December 29, 2004, this play took place, late in the first half, the day before his 20th birthday.

Mutombo told reporters that evening he was unsure how James was injured. “He was lying there and I thought, 'What happened, what happened?'” Mutombo told the Houston Chronicle after the game. “All I know is that I ran to the basket. …LeBron turned around to stop me from going to the basket. The collision happened.”

Ryan Mutombo, the Hall of Famer's son, said in a tribute posted on social media that his father “loved others with every spark of his being.”

“My dad is my hero for simply taking care of me,” wrote Ryan Mutombo. “He remains the purest heart I have ever known.”

Mutombo has served on the boards of numerous organizations, including Special Olympics International, the CDC Foundation and the National Board for the US Fund for UNICEF.

“No one was more qualified than Dikembe to serve as the NBA’s first global ambassador,” Silver said. “He was a humanitarian at his core. He loved the positive impact the game of basketball can have on communities, particularly in his homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and throughout the African continent.”

Mutombo is one of three players to be named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year four times. The others: reigning DPOY winner Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Hall of Famer Ben Wallace.

“He was always there to talk to me and give me advice on how to approach the season and take care of my body and take care of my body after games and stretches and trying different things like yoga,” Milwaukee said Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. “He will always be remembered and may his soul rest in peace.”

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey, who played with Mutombo in Houston for many seasons, was informed of his friend's death Monday at the team's media day. Tears welled up in Morey's eyes as he processed the news.

“There aren’t many people like him,” Morey said. “Just a great person. When I was a rookie GM in this league, my first opportunity in Houston, he was someone I went to all the time. … We don't need to talk too much about his achievements on the pitch. Just an amazing person, what he has done for Africa off the field. Rest in peace, Dikembe.”