Former Sixers’ center, NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo dies of brain cancer at 58

NBA Hall of Famer and former Sixers’ center Dikembe Mutombo has died at the age of 58 from brain cancer, the league announced on Monday.

Former Philadelphia 76ers’ center, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and overall NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo has passed away at the age of 58 from brain cancer, the league announced Monday morning.

Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey was visibly emotional about Mutombo’s passing at the team’s media day on Monday.

“I knew him personally. We were together for many seasons, and he’s obviously important to the Sixers franchise as well. There aren’t many guys like him. Just a great human being,” Morey told reporters. “When I was a rookie GM in this league, my first chance in Houston, he was someone I went to all the time. Obviously his accomplishments on the court… but an amazing human being – what he did off the court, for Africa… Rest in peace, Dikembe.”

The Sixers’ current star center, Joel Embiid, also spoke on Mutombo’s passing on Monday.

“It’s a sad day especially for us Africans and really the whole world because, you know, other than what he’s accomplished on the basketball court, I think he was even better on the off the court,” Embiid said. “He’s one of the guys that I look up to as far as you know having an impact not just on the court but off the court. He’s done a lot of great things for a lot of people. He was a role model of mine. It is a sad day.”

Mutombo had a short stint in Philadelphia, just a season and a half, but it was an impactful one. The 7-foot-2 center was traded to the Sixers at the February deadline in 2001 from the Atlanta Hawks to play alongside Allen Iverson in Philadelphia. Mutombo went on to have one of the best seasons of his career at the age of 34. In 26 regular season games for Philadelphia, he averaged 11.7 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. He earned his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award and his seventh All-Star nod of his career for his efforts. In the playoffs that season, Mutombo averaged 13.9 points, 13.7 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game across the Sixers’ 23-game postseason campaign that ended with a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. It is still the last time the Sixers made it to the championship round.

He then re-signed with the Sixers on a four-year, $68 million contract. In 2001-02, he played 80 games for Philadelphia, averaging double-digit points and rebounds (11.5 points, 10.8 rebounds) for the final time in his career. The Sixers’ season ended in the first round of the playoffs, and Mutombo was traded to the New Jersey Nets in the offseason. He retired after the 2008-09 season after 18 years in the league.

Mutombo is just as well-known for the humanitarian work that Embiid highlighted as he is for his trademark finger-wagging “no, no, no” blocks. He founded the Dikeme Mutombo Foundation in 1997 with a focus on improving conditions in the Congo, helped in the development of the Basketball Africa League and served on countless boards for organizations such as the Special Olympics International, the CDC Foundation and the National Board for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

As NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, Mutombo was simply “larger than life”.