Hawks honor late Dikembe Mutombo. Basketball was 'steppingstone to do something bigger.'

ATLANTA — “A global ambassador for doing right.”

Among the myriad praises sung for Dikembe Mutombo on Monday, former teammate Steve Smith might’ve put it most succinctly.

The Hawks honored the life of their former player, world-wide humanitarian and basketball Hall of Famer Mutombo on Monday. Mutombo died Sept. 30 from brain cancer at age 58.

Mutombo, a 7-foot-2 center with an all-time shot-blocking prowess, spent four-plus seasons with the Hawks (1996-2001) during his illustrious 18-year career. He was one of the most decorated players in franchise history, with his No. 55 retired and displayed on a banner in the arena.

And on Monday, his legacy came to the forefront again at State Farm Arena. The Hawks wore warm-up shirts depicting his iconic finger wag following a block. The arena played audio of his famous ‘no, no, no’ catchphrase after blocks. His silhouette – doing the finger wag, of course – and No. 55 were displayed on the court.

Mutombo’s life and career were celebrated during a half-time video on the scoreboard. Speakers included former teammates Dominique Wilkins, Kevin Willis and Smith, Hawks owner Tony Ressler, long-time Hawks play-by-play announcer Bob Rathbun, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver. The attending Mutombo family was shown on the scoreboard and applauded after the video.

The presentation highlighted Mutombo’s basketball achievements and wide-ranging humanitarian efforts. In 2009, then-NBA commissioner David Stern appointed Mutombo the league’s first global ambassador. The NBA has noted Mutombo served on boards for several organizations including Special Olympics International, the CDC Foundation and the National Board for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

For as revered as Mutombo was as an athlete, he’s held in even higher regard as a person for his numerous charitable works. He emphasized helping the Congo, where he’s from and visited often. He founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, which, among its contributions to helping improve health and education in the Congo, aided the construction of the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital – named after Dikembe’s mother – in Kinshasa.

“What he did in basketball was a steppingstone to do something bigger than himself,” Wilkins said.

The Hawks, donning their Fly City Edition uniforms for the first time, lost to the Mavericks 129-119. They had six blocked shots.

“It’s an honor for us to be able to recognize and celebrate him tonight,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said before the game. “I think the accomplishments and accolades that he earned, and just the way he played — what a force he was defensively — all those things that he did on the court, although they are significant and extraordinary in many ways, I think what he did off the court was as unique as anything we’ve seen from a player in the NBA. To be a global ambassador, that says it all. The hard work he did back home, the influence he’s had over other players and people and league. He’s a maverick of sorts. He blazed the trail in those ways. That’s why the global ambassador title is accurate.”

Each speaker during Monday’s tribute praised Mutombo’s selflessness and his focus on bettering other lives. The conversation about Mutombo always extends far beyond sports. “His legacy is that a person with talent can have extraordinary influence off the basketball court,” Ressler said.

Mutombo’s on-court achievements are plentiful. He’s second all-time in blocks (3,289), the skill set for which he was best known, and 20th in rebounds (12,359). He won four Defensive Player of the Year honors, earned eight All-Star nods and made the All-Defensive Team six times. He was well-regarded by teammates and opponents.

“He was a defensive force on the court who changed the way the game of basketball is played,” Hall of Famer Michael Jordan said in a statement following Mutombo’s death. “But more importantly, Dikembe truly changed the world and improved countless lives through his humanitarian work in Africa.”

In Atlanta, Mutombo averaged 11.9 points, 12.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game (across 343 contests). He had 1,094 blocked shots for the team, giving him the third-highest total in Hawks history and the most on a per-game basis.

The team retired his number two months before he entered the Hall of Fame in 2015. He was the fourth Atlanta Hawk to receive that distinction and first since Wilkins in 2001. Wilkins said in Monday’s video that it’s “fitting” their jerseys are displayed adjacent to one another. He described Mutombo as a “consummate professional.”

A recent Atlanta Journal Constitution reader poll showed if the Hawks were to erect a second statue – Wilkins is the only individual currently with that honor – it should be Mutombo, who received 35% of votes.

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