NBA’s Dikembe Mutombo passes away at 58

The National Basketball Association Hall of Famer passed away from brain cancer while surrounded by his family, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Monday. Mutombo was a humanitarian at his core and sought to uplift communities in his native Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the rest of Africa, Silver said. Siver said the 7-foot-2-inch Mutombo was larger than life, pouring his soul into helping others when he wasn’t blocking shots in the paint.

Mutombo’s skill on the court—demonstrated across nearly two decades beginning in 1991 and ending in 2009—ensconced him in the NBA’s Hall of Fame. His deep, booming voice and infectious smile ensconced him in the hearts of those he met off the court, Silver said. After retiring from the NBA, Mutombo served as the NBA’s official Global Ambassador—a position nobody else was more qualified for, Silver added.

Was Mutombo a Christian? The Associated Press reported in 2018 that Mutombo grew up in a devoutly Christian community in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC. Bleacher Report in 2011 ranked Mutombo fourth on its list of the top 25 most religious athletes. The list identified Mutombo as a devout Baptist. Mutombo married his wife Rose in 1996. They had three children together and adopted four others. Mutombo was sometimes accused of wrongdoing. For instance, in 2012, he was accused of involvement in a gold smuggling scheme in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the time, he refused to comment on that accusation.

Dig deeper: Read Ray Hacke’s column in WORLD Opinons about the frosty reception WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark—a devout Catholic—received upon joining the league.