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Remembering NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, dead at 58 from brain tumor

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

The NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo has died of a brain tumor at the age of 58. On the basketball court, the 7-footer was known for blocking shots, after which he would wag his finger, a way to say, no, no, no. And off the court, he was known as a dedicated humanitarian. NPR's Becky Sullivan has this remembrance.

BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Mutombo was born in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1966.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

DIKEMBE MUTOMBO: That's where I was raised in the house of 10 children. With my mom and my dad was cousin, uncles.

SULLIVAN: Here he is speaking with NPR in 2006. He said, then, his dad made less than $40 a month.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

MUTOMBO: I remember I was in the third grade. I told my dad that I wanted to becoming a doctor (laughter).

SULLIVAN: Mutombo came to the U.S. to study medicine when he was 21 on a scholarship to Georgetown University. Within a week of his arrival, coach John Thompson had sized him up and put Mutombo on the team, and a basketball star was born.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #1: Mutombo.

SULLIVAN: Mutombo was fabulous on defense. He blocked shots with relish.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #2: Mutombo, rejected. That's one.

SULLIVAN: He was named an All Star in his very first season in the NBA and soon developed his signature move - the finger wag.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #3: And Dik waves the finger. He says not in the house of Mutombo.

SULLIVAN: Crowds loved it. Soon, they were all wagging their fingers, too. And his opponent sometimes did, too. He once bragged to Michael Jordan that the superstar had never gotten a dunk on him. Months later, MJ got his revenge and wagged his finger right back.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #4: MJ - oh.

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #5: Oh, he did it. Michael shakes the finger. But he finally got his dunk on Mount Mutombo.

SULLIVAN: Mutombo's career took him to Atlanta and Houston and a few other teams. He was an All Star eight times. But by the time the 2000s rolled around, he became more interested in humanitarian work, especially in Africa.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

MUTOMBO: I still have a little bit of passion. I still love the game, but the desire of kind of switched a little bit.

SULLIVAN: His foundation helped distribute polio vaccines, and he funded a new hospital in Kinshasa, for which President George W. Bush recognized him at the 2007 State of the Union Address.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GEORGE W BUSH: And we're proud to call the son of the Congo a citizen of the United States of America. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Becky Sullivan has reported and produced for NPR since 2011 with a focus on hard news and breaking stories. She has been on the ground to cover natural disasters, disease outbreaks, elections and protests, delivering stories to both broadcast and digital platforms.