Nuggets salute Mutombo but bow to Trail Blazers
TRAIL BLAZERS 115, NUGGETS 113, OT
Honoring a Nuggets legend takes more than 20 minutes.
For Dikembe Mutombo, it took two days. There was dinner Friday night. There was brunch Saturday morning. There were countless meet-and-greets and well-wishing in a whirlwind couple of days that led up to the 20 minutes that mattered most: the ceremony that featured Mutombo’s number being lifted to the Pepsi Center rafters Saturday night.
The cheers in the Mile High City rained down on him once again. One last time. Mutombo smiled through it all and held back tears when he spoke to the crowd that gazed upon him with adoring eyes.
“Nobody would have thought a son of the Congo would have his jersey retired in two arenas,” Mutombo said to fans at the Pepsi Center.
And for all of Mutombo’s on-court accomplishments and accolades, former Nuggets coach and star player Dan Issel put it most succinctly: “This man has given more to the game of basketball than the game of basketball ever gave him.”
While Mutombo discussed the ceremony in a news conference with media, the Nuggets ran down the Portland Trail Blazers with a 34-19 third quarter and survived a 28-minute delay caused by a power surge
that knocked out the arena’s lights before losing 115-113 in overtime and dropping to 1-1.
“It was not easy, I was able to hold my tears, I think I did very well,” Mutombo said. “To see your number going in the history book, your name, the memory of the great organization that brought you into this league … that gave you the opportunity to shine, to let the world know that you’re a great basketball player when everybody was underestimating you.” He continued. “Even my kids were saying ‘Whoa, Daddy, our family names are going in the history books,’ ” Mutombo said. “People from generation to generation will see that name. It means a lot to me personally. It means a lot to my family. I think I did set a good example for my children and my family. For someone who didn’t play basketball as much young … and to grow up and be asked to play basketball at the university and to have your jersey retired, it means a lot. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s a blessing.”
Mutombo, a former Georgetown star who was acquired by Denver with the fourth pick of the 1991 NBA draft, is still the franchise leader in blocked shots (1,486) and career rebounding average (12.3 per game). He is third in rebounds (4,811) and 19th in points (5,054). He is the fifth Nuggets player and sixth person overall to have a number retired. He has become fast friends with guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who also is Congolese.
“It’s great for me to see it because he definitely is where I’m from, he was born where I was born,” Mudiay said. “So, what he’s been doing for the Congolese community and stuff like that, it’s good to see that. It’s a motivating thing as well seeing somebody come from your home area, and not the States; to come from a different country to come to America and do that, it’s definitely a blessing.”
Mutombo started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, opened the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2007 and has been one of the leaders of the Basketball Without Borders program in Africa for over 15 years. Former NBA commissioner David Stern appointed Mutombo to the role of global ambassador in 2009.
The Nuggets presented a check of $50,000 to Mutombo for his foundation.
“For me, I feel privileged because I was able to coach Dikembe in New York for a year,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “You always get to know a player on the court, competing against them, coaching against them. But having a chance to know him as an individual, his sense of humor. And I think at the end of the day … he’s going to be remembered a lot more for his off-the-court achievements, being an ambassador to the game and being a humanitarian, everything he’s done.”