Dikembe Mutombo died of brain cancer at the age of 58 on Sept. 30, 2024. Mutombo dances with mascots during NBA All-Star Weekend at Air Canada Centre on Feb. 13, 2016 in Toronto.Elsa/Getty Images
As he learned about the death of African basketball icon Dikembe Mutombo on Monday, Masai Ujiri cried into a tissue and fumbled for words, saying softly “he made us who we are.”
Like many in the basketball world, the Toronto Raptors president was devastated to hear the news during media day for the new NBA season, that Mutombo had passed from brain cancer at the age of 58. The two men, each from different parts of Africa, shared a special bond over their shared work using basketball to help people on their home continent.
“This is really hard to believe,” said Ujiri, who did Basketball Without Borders for 20 years with Mutombo. “It’s hard for us to be without that guy. You have no idea what Dikembe Mutombo meant to me.”
A native of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 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 Hall of Fame centre was famous for his shutdown defence and finger-waving after blocking shots.
Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri reacts as he speaks about the death of Dikembe Mutombo in Toronto, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
He was equally known for his humanitarian work off the court after retirement in 2009. He spoke nine languages and founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, focused on improving health, education and quality of life for the people in the Congo. He built a hospital there.
The Hall of Famer opened the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in 2007, in honour of his mother, including an emergency room, intensive care unit and 150 beds to serve patients in Kinshasa, the capital of his homeland.
“That guy is a giant. Incredible person,” added the tearful Ujiri. “Who are we without Dikembe Mutombo? It’s not possible.
“I went to Dikembe Mutombo’s hometown with him, I went to his hospital. You have no idea what that guy means to the world. And now he’s gone.”
Ujiri, 54, who was raised in Nigeria, said Mutombo took him under his wing when he got to the Denver Nuggets and had a huge influence on his career.
Ujiri shared a few anecdotes about Mutombo, who he considered a mentor, like the time he saw Ujiri about to board a plane wearing sweats and urged him to dress up as he’d just received a promotion to director of scouting. He also remembered Mutombo convincing some young players from Africa to get dressed up more respectfully before they were going to meet Nelson Mandela. He had a gift for elevating youth.
Mutombo had made many visits to Canada and was a big supporter of Ujiri’s humanitarian work with Giants of Africa.
“There’s nobody that Mutombo did not touch,” added Ujiri. “Everything you see, as big as he is, his heart was bigger, bigger. Today is not a good day, not a good day for sport, for us, in Africa … but we celebrate him, and celebrate him big.”
Mutombo’s family revealed two years ago that he was undergoing treatment in Atlanta for a brain tumour. The NBA said he died surrounded by his family.
“What Dikembe Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon and Manute Bol did for us of the continent is something you cannot imagine,” Ujiri said. “Nobody did it like those three, setting the pace for us.”
Mutombo was a towering presence on and off the court. He was also a board member for many organizations, including Special Olympics International, the CDC Foundation and the National Board for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
“There was nobody more qualified than Dikembe to serve as the NBA’s first global ambassador,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver in a statement. “He was a humanitarian at his core. He loved what the game of basketball could do to make a positive impact on communities, especially in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo and across the continent of Africa.”