Team will honor Mutombo by retiring his No. 55 jersey in a ceremony Saturday night.
Nuggets retiring Hall of Famer’s jersey
Saturday night at the Pepsi Center will be about finger waves and bravado. About on-court excellence and off-thecourt stewardship. About overcoming the odds to lift a team, and a city, and fill his home country with joy, admiration and pride.
Saturday night for the Nuggets is about Dikembe Mutombo.
The giant was gentle to everyone but NBA opponents driving down the lane toward him. The Nuggets will honor Mutombo, one of the most beloved players in franchise history, by retiring his No. 55 jersey in a ceremony.
What’s his lasting impact? Let three people give their view.
Mutombo wouldn’t be a Nuggets legend if Bernie Bickerstaff, the team’s general manager in 1991 when the big man was drafted No. 4 overall, didn’t select him. Bickerstaff desperately wanted the skinny shot blocker out of Georgetown.
“In terms of who we wanted at that time, there was no doubt about that. We wanted the big guy for defensive purposes,” Bickerstaff said.
“He was used a lot that first year offensively. Paul (Westhead) was coaching, and Paul had the ability to get big people the ball. I think Dikembe was more interested in getting that basketball down on that block that first year. And then he evolved into who he was, and the reason he’s in the Hall of Fame is because of his defense.
“You talk about (Bill) Russell, I don’t think there’s anybody in his class defensively. But (Mutombo) had this innate intelligence and ability to read offenses.”
The teammate
Robert Pack still looks like he can take a steal the length of the court and jam it home. The tank of a guard played alongside Mutombo, most notably on that beloved 1994 team, which became the first No. 8 playoff seed in NBA history to beat a No. 1 seed in a series.
This is Pack, in his own words, smiling the entire time as he discussed playing alongside Mutombo.
“The guy was an amazing player, an amazing teammate. And I think when he was there in Denver he loved the city and took a lot of pride in the city and us doing well for the city. He gave his all to Denver and that organization, so for him to be now getting this I think is well deserved.
“That was my boy. We had plenty of laughs together, plenty of long conversations over dinner. I just loved playing with the guy. I tell guys all the time, I spent many nights driving to McNichols (Sports Arena) thinking of how many gambles I was going to take, to try to get a steal and a dunk to get the crowd going because I knew if I made a mistake he had my back, back there.
“Most people think the finger wave came from him blocking guys’ shots. I think it came from him waving his finger at Mahmoud (Abdul-Rauf ), Bryant Stith and myself because we fouled the guy instead of letting him get to the basket so he could get a block. So he would tell us: ‘No, no, no.’ That finger wave originated with him getting on us about fouling the guy and taking a blocked shot away from him.”
Another admirer
Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried doesn’t hesitate when the subject turns to Mutombo. He says he looked up to the sultan of swat as a kid. Faried’s interactions with Mutombo as an adult further cemented his love for the Hall of Famer.
“I looked up to him, big time,” Faried said. “His defensive prowess and the things he did on the court was amazing. But the off-the-court stuff is even more meaningful to me, just the person he is, the type of humanitarian he is, the type of ambassador he is, he’s just amazing. I love people like that, who don’t care what they’re doing on the court, but more so off the court and impacting the world.
“We played in a little summer thing last year. That was fun and exciting and we talked then. When I saw him at the All-Star Games, I’d go visit and just have a conversation with him, pick his brain, see what he thinks. Inspiration in leadership from vets like that is great. He wasn’t my vet, but I’m saying, a legend.”