The basketball world lost one of its true legends as NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo passed away at the age of 58 years old. Though he never played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Mutombo had many battles against the franchise, including in the 2001 NBA Finals as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Mutombo was one of the best big men of his era, and one of the greatest defensive bigs of all-time known for his famous ‘finger wag’ after blocking a shot. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times while being an eight-time All-Star. He still ranks second in NBA history in blocked shots and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Some within the Lakers family paid tribute and offered their condolences to Mutombo and his family following the news of his passing, including Magic Johnson, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace, who was a teammate of Mutombo in his final NBA season with the Houston Rockets:
I’m so heartbroken to hear about the passing of my dear friend and basketball Hall of Famer, Dikembe Mutombo. He was not only a great basketball player who could protect the rim as an elite shot-blocker, but also an incredible man with a pure heart of gold. He dedicated much of… pic.twitter.com/2XKgju5Nii
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 30, 2024
I was very sad to hear about Dikembe Mutombo's passing. Dikembe was not only great on the court, but a force for good off it, admired and loved by those who got to know him. His smile, his values and his dedication to basketball, as well as to helping others, will never be… pic.twitter.com/KZaOSAXVGE
— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) September 30, 2024
R.I.P Dikembe Mutombo
Love you bro— Head Coach Metta (@MettaWorld37) September 30, 2024
In addition to everything he accomplished on the basketball court, Mutombo is also widely lauded for his humanitarian work off of it, particularly in his homeland of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In 2007, he opened the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital named after his late mother in his hometown of Kinshasa. Through his Mutombo Foundation construction also began in 2020 on the Samuel Mutombo Institute of Science & Entrepreneurship, a modern pre-K through 6th-grade school named after his father. Mutombo was also a longtime supporter of the Special Olympics being a Global Ambassador as well as a member of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.
Mutombo was truly a giant of the basketball world, but his reach on this earth extended far beyond that and he will truly be missed.
JJ Redick believes Lakers must improve physicality on defense
New Lakers head coach JJ Redick knows the team must make improvements defensively. Despite having arguably the best defensive big man in the NBA today in Anthony Davis, the Lakers have a lot of room for growth and Redick pinpointed one area that must improve.
“Obviously we need to increase our physicality,” Redick said at a recent press conference. “We need to be a better team in terms of contesting shots. We were in the bottom third of the league last year in that.
“I think what will be big for us in sort of the player development work that we’ve done defensively is we’ve talked a lot about having elite presentation and trying to create marginal indecision. That could be in a shift, that could be with low man help, that could be the big up to touch and drop.”
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