Tag: Dikembe Mutombo

LeBron James reminisced about Dikembe Mutombo with a hilariously painful birthday story

Dikembe Mutombo gave LeBron James quite the birthday present back in the day.

The NBA world was devastated by the legendary Dikembe Mutombo’s death on Monday morning. Everyone remembered Mutombo’s iconic finger-wag celebration, Mutumbo’s hysterical commercial featuring that finger-wag gesture, and some of the best moments of his playing career, including the underdog Denver Nuggets’ upset of the No. 1-seeded Seattle Supersonics in 1994.

An all-time legend in his own right, LeBron James was asked about his thoughts on Mutombo as the NBA mourned the passing of the larger-than-life giant. In a hilarious story, James recalled a time when Mutombo apparently broke his face trying to block a shot, forcing the then-Cleveland Cavalier to wear a protective mask for a little while.

Oh, and he said it coincidentally happened on James’ birthday. Oof.

James, of course, meant all of this in good fun while reminiscing about Mutombo’s tremendous impact on the global basketball community:

Dikembe Mutombo highlights: Remembering the greatest moments of his amazing career

Dikembe Mutombo was such a larger than life presence that it is hard to believe that he is gone.

Dikembe Mutombo was such a larger than life presence that it is hard to believe that he is gone.

The beloved big man, who died at 58, was one of the most memorable players in league history. His iconic finger was celebration made him an unforgettable presence in the basketball world.

He was an incredibly accomplished player who made eight All-Star appearances and won NBA Defensive Player of the Year four time in his career.

While there are so many highlights during his time on the court, here are a few of the all-time best moments he had in an NBA uniform:

Dikembe blocks MJ

Three consecutive blocks vs. Bucks

Four consecutive blocks vs. 76ers

Dikembe records 12 blocks in 1 game

Upsetting the Supersonics as a No. 1 seed

The late Dikembe Mutombo was also the star of the funniest commercial ever made

Dikembe Mutombo showed so much joy on and off the court.

Dikembe Mutombo was easily one of the greatest defensive big men to ever play basketball. He was also one of the funniest people on the planet.

Mutombo, who tragically died at 58, had an iconic celebration whenever he blocked a shot. His finger wag was one of the greatest taunts in sports history and we saw him pull it out during some iconic moments both on and off the court.

While many remember him for his impact on the game, others may recall that he was the star of a particularly memorable commercial. Mutombo starred in an ad for GEICO in which he blocked various everyday items into oblivion.

During this ad, which released in February 2013, he blocked shots in the real world. The idea is that the way he played the game, winning four Defensive Player of the Year awards, made him so genuinely happy.

He also used his catchphrases like “no, no, no” as well as “not in my house” and “not today” with his amazing laugh, shattering everything in his sight and running away with child-like joy.

This commercial was amazing and so was Mutombo. He will be missed dearly.

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Dikembe Mutombo is mourned by the NBA world after his death

Dikembe Mutombo was a legend larger than life and one of basketball’s greatest ambassadors.

Basketball Hall of Famer, four-time Defensive Player of the Year, and 8-time NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo is dead at the age of 58 after a battle with brain cancer. The tragic news about the larger-than-life big man was reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, shocking the basketball world with a devastating bombshell on Monday morning.

A native of the Republic of Congo, Mutombo turned in one of the finest careers in NBA history. He was a defensive ace for every team he played for, a prolific shot-blocker who amusingly made light of his highlight plays with an iconic “finger wag” celebration.

The finest team moment of Mutombo’s illustrious career might have been when he led the 1994 Denver Nuggets — the No. 8 seed in those Western Conference playoffs — to a stunning upset of the No. 1 Seattle Supersonics.

Mutombo was an incredible professional basketball player but an even better person. He was seemingly wearing a smile from ear to ear any time anyone saw him in public, bringing sheer, unbridled joy into any room he walked into. More importantly, Mutombo went to great lengths to use his huge platform to help improve living conditions in the Republic of Congo while also later working to improve basketball infrastructure in Africa in general.

Mutombo was a giant of the game in every imaginable way, and his loss is tremendous.

The NBA world mourned Mutombo after his death

Dikembe Mutombo’s finger wag was 1 of the greatest taunts in sports history

Remembering the center who died at the age of 58.

Dikembe Mutombo wasn’t JUST known for the finger wag.

But when you see the many images of the legendary center who died from brain cancer at the age of 58, you see him and his humongous wingspan going up for a block, swatting it away and putting up an elongated finger to tell his opponent “NO NO NO.”

So many players imitated it and Mutombo leaned into it after his career was over. And what a career it was: eight All-Star teams, six All-Defensive teams, four Defensive Player of the Year titles.

And he played the game with such joy. RIP.

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Shaquille O’Neal thinks Dikembe Mutombo disrespected him in 2001 NBA Finals

One aspect of Dikembe Mutombo’s strategy against Shaquille O’Neal in the 2001 NBA Finals didn’t sit well with the great Lakers center.

In his eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaquille O’Neal established himself as one of the most dominant players in NBA history. He won the league MVP award and helped lead the Lakers to the first of three straight world championships during the 1999-2000 season, and his performance that season was arguably the most dominant of any player ever.

In the 2001 NBA Finals, he and his Lakers went up against the gutsy Philadelphia 76ers. While the 76ers were anemic offensively, they had the Defensive Player of the Year, center Dikembe Mutombo.

Perhaps some thought Mutombo could contain O’Neal and give Philly at least a puncher’s chance at winning it all. But O’Neal said on his podcast, “The Big Podcast,” the plan was for Mutombo to guard him one-on-one, and he saw that as disrespectful.

“I like him, but it’s like a new rapper coming in and saying, ‘T.I.’s not a great rapper.’ Don’t disrespect me,” said Shaq. “During the Finals, Uncle Jerome (Crawford, O’Neal’s bodyguard) comes in and goes, ‘Hey, man, Mutombo says he’s Defensive Player of the Year, he don’t need no double-team.’ Don’t disrespect me by saying you gonna play me one-on-one. I take that as a sign of disrespect. So I’m looking at the paper, ‘I’m Defensive Player of the Year, I can play Shaq one-on-one.’ It’s a sign of disrespect. It’s like any new (expletive) rapper coming in and saying, ‘That (expletive) T.I. did ain’t all that.’ So I get it and the first play of the game I look: The (expletive) double ain’t coming. I said, ‘Oh OK. I’m knocking his (expletive) teeth outta his head…'”

The Sixers won Game 1 of that series despite 44 points and 20 rebounds from O’Neal, as Allen Iverson erupted for 48 points. Although they were competitive for much of the rest of the series, they ultimately fell to Los Angeles in five games.

O’Neal simply eviscerated Mutombo by averaging 33.0 points, 15.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.4 blocked shots a game in the series. At times, his sheer physicality was too much for the 7-foot-2, 260-pound Mutombo to handle.

While the Sixers earned praise across America for their heart and never-say-die attitude, the Lakers earned the Larry O’Brien Trophy and established the foundation for another dynasty.

4 Philadelphia 76ers named to most overpaid players in NBA history list

Four players in Philadelphia 76ers history have been named to the most overpaid players list in NBA history.

How much money NBA players make is a debate that rages among fans on an everyday basis. The fan base of every team discusses how much money a certain player makes and whether he actually deserves the contract he has.

The Philadelphia 76ers are not immune to that debate.

The folks over at HoopsHype have put together a metric to measure such issues. The real value metric was developed by HoopsHype analyst Alberto De Roa. In a recent HoopsHype article, authors Sam Yip Frank Urbina sorted the top 30 overpaid players in NBA history in terms of their real value.

There are four players on the list who have ties to the Sixers and they are:

Trevor Lawrence gives Steelers the Dikembe Mutombo finger-wag after amazing pass

Trevor Lawrence made an amazing throw against the Steelers, and added the Dikembe Mutombo finger-wag for good measure.

If there’s one thing we knew about the Jacksonville Jaguars this season, it’s that things wouldn’t possibly be as bad as they were last season under the “leadership” of one Urban Meyer. New head coach Doug Pederson had nowhere to go but up in everything from accountability to game-planning to roster management to game design, and so far, things are looking pretty good out there.

Things are looking especially good for quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the 2021 first-overall pick, who was thrown into a woodchipper by Meyer’s abhorrent coaching, and by the equally putrid efforts of former offensive designers Brian Schottenheimer and Darrell Bevell. Lawrence had so little to work with under that trio, it’s a miracle he made it out alive in a professional sense, and if he was shocked right out of the NFL, it wouldn’t have been a complete surprise.

Lawrence has more to him than that, though. Last week against the Browns, Lawrence completed six of 12 passes for 95 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. Baby steps to be sure, but there was enough to make you think that Pederson and his staff had things in store for Lawrence that would frustrate opposing defenses. That’s certainly what our own Laurie Fitzpatrick saw.

How Doug Pederson is already saving Trevor Lawrence from another disastrous season

Against the Steelers on Saturday, it didn’t take long for Lawrence to turn that speculation into reality. This throw to receiver Marvin Jones Jr. wasn’t just a dart across his body; it was also perfectly placed to sail over cornerback Cameron Sutton.

Not bad, if you can get away with it. And then, just to show that his confidence is just fine after what Meyer tried to do to it, Lawrence gave the Steelers the Dikembe Mutombo finger-wag, telling them to avoid that smoke.

As Mr. Mutombo would certainly say in this case, it ain’t boldness if you can back it up.

List of the sidekicks Sixers employed next to superstar Allen Iverson

Here is a list of the sidekicks the Philadelphia 76ers employed next to superstar Allen Iverson during his era.

When one remembers Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson, one will remember two things: his elite scoring ability and his willingness to put his body on the line every night and play through injury in order to help his team win.

Iverson averaged 27.6 points and 6.1 assists in his career for Philadelphia and he ended up winning four scoring titles. He won an MVP award in 2001 and he led the team to the NBA Finals in 2001.

What was even more impressive about Iverson’s run in 2001 was that he did so without a bonafide sidekick next to him. Philadelphia struggled to find the right Robin to Iverson’s Batman all throughout his career as they made moves that were expected to help The Answer get the Sixers to the top and Sixers Wire is going to list the sidekicks Iverson had in Philadelphia.

Which NBA players had the most blocks in their career?

Who has swatted the most shots in NBA history? Here are the league’s all-time blocks leaders.

The modern NBA is predicated on offense, with players pulling up from way beyond the 3-point line on a nightly basis. The emphasis on taking the ball to the rim has changed radically, as has the need to protect the rim. As such, the players in NBA history with the most career blocks feel like titans from another era.

The modern game has a few defensive stalwarts such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert. They know how to protect the rim at all costs. Still, the modern top dogs on defense don’t hold a candle to the Association’s greatest.

From fingering wagging and intense tempers to safety goggles and mild manners, the men with the most career blocks in NBA history have one thing in common: They know how to lock it down on defense.