Denver Nuggets’ legend, Dikembe Mutombo, has died
Sep 30, 2024, 3:08 PM | Updated: 10:05 pm
The NBA lost a legend today, but more importantly, the world lost a great man.
Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Famer, died Monday after a battle with brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58.
Mutombo played 18 NBA seasons for the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. He played more for the Nuggets than any of the rest at 391 games over five seasons in the early 1990s, including 15 playoff games.
Mutombo’s No. 55 hangs in the rafters at Ball Arena, as it was retied by the team in 2016.
Mutombo devoted his time after retirement to charitable and humanitarian causes. He spoke nine languages and founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, concentrating on improving health, education and quality of life for the people in the Congo. He also served on the boards of many organizations, including Special Olympics International, the CDC Foundation and the National Board for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
