Who wants to write about Mutombo?

Carl Herrera · Jan 9, 2008

Apparently, multiple writers. Here are articles from both Rockets.com and the NY Daily News. Interesting that Dikembe is friends with Dolan but doesn't even want to talk about Isiah. I also remember back when he was with the Knicks, his career looked pretty dead (I think the Nets bought him out and the Knicks signed him but then wanted to be rid of him). Amazing he's played multiple productive years after that. Who would have thought back then?

Also, it is mentioned that his 2 swats vs. New York were his first two of the SEASON. Amazing.... one would have thought he would have gotten one randomly. But until that game, he has kinda looked really old and slow (and his hands were worse than ever). I hope he is rounding into shape and the coaching staff is finding a way to use him better.

Dikembe Mutombo Rockets in for final visit to Madison Square Garden
BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Wednesday, January 9th 2008, 4:00 AM

CHICAGO - Dikembe Mutombo wants one final finger wag before waving goodbye to Madison Square Garden.

The NBA's tallest humanitarian plays his last game at the World's Most Famous Arena Wednesday following 17 seasons of rejecting shots and intimidating opponents, all the while improving lives off the court.

"I love playing at the Garden," Mutombo says with his booming and lovable cartoonish voice. "I'm happy to have the opportunity to do it for the last time."

Mutombo spent the 2003-04 season with the Knicks before being shipped to the Chicago Bulls in the sign-and-trade deal for Jamal Crawford. The trade came two months after a disagreement with Isiah Thomas, who advised the 7-2 center to take an in-season vacation.

"I don't have any comments about Isiah," Mutombo said on Saturday in Houston, where the Rockets defeated the Knicks. "He and I have decided to go our separate ways so I don't want to talk about him."

Mutombo is hoping to see Garden chairman James Dolan, who has been a strong financial ally and friend. In July, Mutombo's foundation opened a 300-bed hospital in Kinshasa, Congo's capital. With a projected $2.5 million budget needed annually to keep the hospital operating, he has reached out to Dolan on several occasions and each time the chairman has helped.

"I can't say enough about him," Mutombo said. "He has done so much for the foundation. Jim is a great man."

Mutombo, 41, announced his pending retirement after signing a contract extension with the Houston Rockets. He had offers to play for the Boston Celtics last offseason, but Mutombo felt a sense of loyalty to the Rockets organization and his teammates. He also joked that he couldn't survive a New England winter.

"Too cold," he said. "Just like New York."
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http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2008/01/09/2008-01-

Before leaving the Verizon Center on Tuesday night, Dikembe Mutombo took a final lap around the court following Houston's win over the Washington Wizards.

He wanted to savor one more special moment in his final season.

"It was good," Mutombo said with a giant grin. "This is where my career started from my college days (at Georgetown). This was my last game here. I got a chance to talk to some friends and family. I loved it."

Mutombo is simply enjoying every second of his farewell tour.

The Rockets reserve center is planning to retire following the season, ending what has been an impressive 16-year run through the NBA. But with at least three months remaining before he puts on a uniform for the last time, Mutombo is taking pleasure in his final 29-city tour.

He'll play in Madison Square Garden one last time Wednesday night when the Rockets visit the New York Knicks.

"My teammates will tell you that Deke is having fun," Mutombo said. "I try to make sure every day -- especially when I'm away from my wife and kids -- that I connect myself with my teammates and my fans. I just try to step out of the hotel and get something to eat with the guys. I just want to enjoy this because it's not going to be around soon."

Mutombo, the league's oldest player at 41, nearly retired after the Rockets' first-round playoff setback to the Utah Jazz last season. He was disappointed with his reduced role in the postseason as well as the team's earlier-than-expected exit.

But he changed his mind after a meeting with former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon. The Rockets star urged Mutombo to return for one more season so that he didn't leave the game with a sour taste in his mouth.

Since that talk with Olajuwon, Mutombo has embraced his final run through the NBA.

His teammates have noticed that Mutombo is having fun -- even if they'd prefer him to be around even longer.

"It's sad that it's his last season because I've enjoyed playing the last three years with him," Rockets center Yao Ming said. "He's not just a teammate, he's like the older brother -- the oldest. He's a great model for this team. He's always ready to play even though he hasn't gotten a lot of minutes."

Mutombo has appeared in 13 games this season. He's averaged 8.4 minutes in those games, mainly receiving playing time when Yao has been slowed by foul trouble.

Still, he's had his moments. During Houston's win over New York on Jan. 5, Mutombo provided a big lift in a mere seven minutes of action. He grabbed four rebounds and stuffed two shots. The two blocks were his first of the season.

"That was the first time he had a block in eight years," Rockets guard Steve Francis joked.

Mutombo's credentials, of course say, otherwise.

Despite seeing reduced minutes these days, the center has preserved his legacy as one of the game's greatest defenders and shot blockers. The eight-time All-Star is second on the NBA's all-time blocked shots list and is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Yao said he has learned a ton from Mutombo.

"I learn a lot from him," Yao said. "He's taught me how to prepare yourself in the game and how you should carry yourself. He hasn't really worked with me on skill. Mostly on mentality."
Mutombo is satisfied with what he has accomplished.

"By the time I walk away from this game, I want to be remembered as one of the best shot blockers that ever played this game," Mutombo said. "I was actually reflecting today on my career and how I was able to play 16 years. I can say to myself, 'I did what I set out to do. I did what I told my fans I was going to do, which was to block as many shots as I can and grab as many rebounds as I can.' That's what I'm going to be remembered for. During my rookie season, I said I wanted to be the best rebounder and the best shot blocker. I'm going to make a lot of money doing it and I did it. I can leave this game and smile."

Mutombo promises this season will be his last because he assured his six children that he'd be spending more time at home.

He is certainly taking in every moment as if its his last.

"I'm enjoying this," Mutombo said.
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http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/RocketsKnicks_Preview-251418-34.html?rss=true

MyEyesSee · Jan 9, 2008

If I get a chance I'll make a WE (HEART) DEKE sign to hold up tonight. I hate being busy on a day when I'm ready to rock with the Rox.

mlwoo · Jan 9, 2008

Sad. Call me a puss, but I almost started crying in my office at work. The girl outside my window is probably thinking I'm crazy.

weslinder · Jan 9, 2008

Dikembe Mutombo is the greatest Sportsman that we have today. I am truly proud that he is retiring as a Rocket.

Carl Herrera · Jan 9, 2008

One more article, this a blog post from the Washington Post:

Mutombo's Final D.C. Finger Wag
He did it one last time. The trademark finger wag. Yeah, Dikembe Mutombo pulled it out of the holster once again, waved it side to side and gave folks at Verizon Center once last look at the long index finger wave that the NBA once banned; the scolding wave that defined his career as one of the greatest shot blockers ever.

Late in the first quarter of the Houston Rockets' 92-84 victory against the Washington Wizards last night, Mutombo stepped in front of DeShawn Stevenson to knock away the ball - it actually just bounced off his chest. He didn't get credit for a block, but he let it be known that, even at 41, Mount Mutombo is still difficult to climb.

"He tried to scoobie-doo, me, but my hand was too long," Mutombo said. "I caught him. I said, 'No, no, young man.' "

I'm actually No. 2.(David J. Phillip/AP Photo) It sort of slid under the radar but Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo played his final game in Washington yesterday. The magnitude of the event wasn't lost on Mutombo, who talked afterward about how this is the place "where the legend was born."

It's still hard to believe today - as the 7-foot-2 Mutombo stands as the second-best shot blocker of all time, a four-time defensive player of year and eight-time NBA all-star - but when he had no intention of playing basketball when he arrived at Georgetown in 1988. Former Georgetown Coach John Thompson had to do some heavy recruiting to convince the medical student from the Democratic Republic of Congo to come out for the team.

We all know how that turned out. Mutombo formed fearsome shot-blocking tandem with Alonzo Mourning and went on to become the No. 4 pick of the 1991 NBA draft.

Where the legend was born. (John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated) Mutombo is calling it quits after this, his 17th season in the league, and reflected some on his career. Thompson told him almost 20 years ago that he'd be a shot blocker and a rebounder. "I said I was going to make a lot of money doing it and I did that," said Mutombo, who has made more than $100 million during a career with Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and Houston. "I have to leave this game with a mark."

And there is no doubt that he left is greatest mark on the game as a shot blocker. He surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last season for second place, and with 3,233 career blocks, Mutombo trails only Hakeem Olajuwon (3,830). "After I passed Kareem, I said I was too far away to catch Hakeem Olajuwon," Mutombo said, with that raspy, Cookie-Monster chortle. "I'm the second best that ever did it. I'm going to get T-shirts made. Second Best Ever Did It."

The record will probably be safe, since the art of blocking shots has diminished in recent years. The top active rejecters - Shaquille O'Neal, Theo Ratliff, Marcus Camby and Ben Wallace - are all in their 30s and would need to play well into their 40s to catch him, an unlikely. "I will remain the second best that ever did it," said Mutombo, who has averaged 2.7 blocks per game over his career.

Mourning, who ranks 10th all-time on the shot-blocking list, won't be able to catch him with his career likely ending last month when tore the right patella tendon in his knee while attempting to contest a dunk by Atlanta's Mario West. Mutombo said it was "hard" to see his teammate and friend go down like that.

"A lot of people are worried about him. That's my boy, I know him. He's going to be okay," Mutombo said. "He went through a lot. He's a fighter. He has a strong will. He was a strong heart. He's always going to be okay.

"The best thing is for the Georgetown family to wish him the best recovery so one day he will get the chance to play one-on-one with his kids. He's got a young son; little Trey [Alonzo III] is coming up. I want him to get his knees better, get well. Maybe one day we can all take our kids to the park and challenge them, like 'We was the best. Don't try to take it to the old men.' "

Mutombo's greatest legacy, though, will be for his humanitarian work. He established the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in his native Democratic Republic of Congo. He was recognized during George W. Bush's State of the Union address last year for building the $29 million Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital (named after his late mother) in his home town of Kinshasa. The hospital, built from money he raised, largely from his own pocket, will aid a community where a fourth of the residents live in poverty.

Thank you, Mr. President. Can we get more help in Africa? (White House Photo/Eric Draper) Before shootaround yesterday, Mutombo spent about 1 ½ hours at the state department to discuss many of the problems that plague Africa. He was joined by teammate Tracy McGrady, who has become involved with Darfur after visiting some refugee camps in Chad last summer. "The war in Darfur has been going on for 26 years, it's not something that started today in the Sudan," Mutombo said. "The main thing, any human being alive in this world, it should be a concern."

McGrady and Mutombo were expected to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but she had to deal with the turbulent situation in Kenya instead. Mutombo wasn't disappointed. He's met with her "so many times. Going to the state department is like checking in at the dormitories," Mutombo said, again, with that deep, cackling laugh.

Back to his final season. Mutombo said came back for one more season at the urging of Rockets owner Leslie Alexander and members of the coaching staff. He plays sparingly, averaging just 0.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.2 blocks in 8.4 minutes.

Brendan, when I was your age, man did not fly in the house of Mutombo. Now that I'm 41 . . . eh. (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) He played just eight minutes last night, picking up 2 points, 1 rebound and um, no blocks. Mutombo won't complain. "I just want to be a mentor to these young guys. If I can inspire them and lead them to the right direction to understand what it takes to prepare for the game, just be an example for them," Mutombo said. "If I get in fine, if I don't, I'm going to be on the bench and cheering for my friends.

"Some of teammates are like, 'Deke, why are they not playing you this year?' I'm like, 'It's not about that,' " Mutombo said. "I've accomplished everything, all-star, defensive player of the year, whatever you want to do."

Hey, he's the second best who ever did it.
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http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/01/mutombos_final_dc_finger_wag.html

deekay209 · Jan 9, 2008

Wow. I never knew he had to be talked into playing basketball. I wonder if that means he never played until he came to Georgetown. He was also a medical student? I bet he wanted to go back as a doctor to help his country.

If what he did on court isn't enough for the Hall of Fame, His off court humanitarian work should be considered also.

AzNaNsZ · Jan 9, 2008

God bless you Mutombo we will miss your pressence in the league

Tfor3 · Jan 9, 2008

Deke is a great human being.

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