Dikembe Mutombo, a Towering N.B.A. Presence, Dies at 58
Mr. Mutombo, who did not begin playing basketball until adolescence, retired with the second-most blocked shots in league history.
Dikembe Mutombo, who arrived at Georgetown University as an international student with aspirations of being a doctor but became a towering presence in professional basketball and a dedicated humanitarian in his native Democratic Republic of Congo, died on Monday. He was 58.
Mutombo did not play basketball until midadolescence, having preferred soccer as a child. An older brother, Ilo, and his father, Samuel, encouraged him to try the sport in which his outsize frame, which ultimately stretched to 7 feet 2 inches, combined with his athletic agility could be of greater benefit.
He wound up playing 18 seasons in the N.B.A. for six teams, retiring with the second-most blocked shots in league history behind Hakeem Olajuwon, another African-born center. He was known for his trademark finger wag, a provocative pose he used to dissuade shooters from challenging him at the rim.
