They say time heals all wounds. But it takes just that —time — to fully process the loss of a larger than life person who left a mark on the many people he interacted with.
Last September, NBA legend and Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo died from brain cancer at 58 years old.
His greatness on and off the basketball court has been diligently documented. The eight-time All-Star remains second on the NBA’s all-time career blocks list with 3,289 and 20th on the rebounds list with 12,359. On top of that, he won the NBA’s defensive player of the year four times and earned six All-Defensive Team selections.
When it came to helping others, the 7-foot-2 center attacked his philanthropic endeavors with the same tenacity he had on the court. Although he did not give back to his community to earn accolades, the list of them runs long.
“Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life. On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA,” commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement following the announcement of Mutombo’s death. “Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.
“There was nobody more qualified than Dikembe to serve as the NBA’s first Global Ambassador. 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. I had the privilege of traveling the world with Dikembe and seeing first-hand how his generosity and compassion uplifted people. He was always accessible at NBA events over the years — with his infectious smile, deep booming voice and signature finger wag that endeared him to basketball fans of every generation."
So, how do you say goodbye to someone who endeared himself to so many?
On Saturday, the Mutombo family will hold a public memorial at 10:30 a.m. in McCamish Pavilion on the campus of Georgia Tech to honor his life and legacy.
“I thought just because the way Dikembe lived, and the way he embraced the people and the way he loved the people in our community, and also the support we’ve received in the last two years and a half,” Mutombo’s widow, Rose, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “From the time he was diagnosed and all the way to passing, we just have received an outpouring of support of people in our community and people all over the world. So, I thought it would be a good idea to give the people in our community and those all over the world who want to come join us to celebrate his life and legacy.”
The grieving process rarely unfolds linearly, and for Rose, the wound of losing her husband remains fresh eight months later.
“It has been definitely very, very hard,” she said. “Twenty-nine years of marriage, and you know, you don’t think about losing your spouse at 58. So, it has been really hard. There are good days and bad days. So, definitely I’m still early, early on in my grieving process.
“But having this event, I think it will help me, maybe to lend to the place of acceptance. Because right now, I’m kind of still in denial a little bit, you know? So I’m sitting around the house at the time thinking he’s coming back. So I’m hoping that gathering people in our community and celebrating together his life and legacy, maybe it can also just help a little bit, to learn that the point that you know what, he’s no longer with us. And maybe I can start transitioning from denial, maybe to acceptance, and start healing.”
Mutombo’s memorial, which is free to the public, will include speeches, tributes and musical performances to give those in a city that he loved a chance to honor him and pay their respects.
“That’s something I’ll cherish,” Rose Mutombo said. “The way people embraced him in this community, even years, years, years past, after playing for the Hawks for five years, which was in the late 90s. So, I think it’s a community that embraced us, embraced him, and loved him, and it just feels so good to do something like that in our community.”
Even after the Hawks star went on to play for the 76ers, the Nets, the Knicks and the Rockets, Atlanta remained the family’s home.
“For many, many years, as a family together, we had a good relationship with Hosea Helps,“ Rose Mutombo said. ”So, every Thanksgiving we will go to the facility. I think it’s (Atlanta City Detention Center). They will go there the night before Thanksgiving, and we would help prepare the meal. And on Thanksgiving, that became a really, really, like something that our family will do. And he was leading that. So, yeah, go and he will serve. We’ll go. They will spend three hours serving the people in the center, people come and so forth.
“And then he was also involved with organizations such as the Boys & Girls (Club) and, of course, our local UNICEF, as well. Not only that, for many years, he was the Santa Claus for the Children’s hospital, you know. So all of those are memories where he will go, and pulling the truck with a gifts, and knocking on kids’ doors, hospital doors and give gifts.”
But his drive to help others extended far beyond the city limits of Atlanta. He founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, which aimed to improve health, education and the quality of life in his home country.
Mutombo served on numerous boards, including the CDC Foundation, the National Board for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and Special Olympics International.
“So all those, all of those are good memories, about how he was involved in our community,” Rose said. “And then there was time, where also we had a young children’s camp, basketball camp in the summertime, and we would organize the camp free of charge. We would provide the meals, and they will have a police officer come and talk to the people, you know, how to expect when we are pulled (over).
“So, he was a part of education, and he also really, really believed in education. So he was a part of promoting all of that, you know, the safety of our community, promoting that education was important for the young men, and also for many years, he volunteered in there. He was coaching AAU basketball. So he was big on community.”
With Saturday’s memorial, the Mutombo family want to celebrate the life of the man they loved so much, alongside the city he loved so much. Atlanta was the city where his three biological children were born. It’s also the city that took care of him in his most vulnerable state.
“We want as many people as possible to come,” his widow said. “I am encouraging people to come to be a part of a celebration of Dikembe’s life and legacy. It will be memorable. But for those who unfortunately cannot make it, it will be livestreamed.”
The livestream link has not been provided yet.
IF YOU GO
Celebration of Life – NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo
10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 31, McCamish Pavilion, Georgia Tech Campus, 965 Fowler St. NW, Atlanta 30318. 1-888-832-4849
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
