NBA’s Elder Statesman Lives Up to His Title

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10

As the NBA’s senior citizen, 41-year-old Houston Rocket’s center Dikembe Mutombo seems to be sipping from the fountain of youth. Pressed into action with the season-ending injury of starting center Yao Ming, Mutombo has played a key role in the Rocket’s franchise record 18 game (as of this writing) win streak. Now in his 16th year with the league, his playing time had been on the decline—that of a support player.

But with Ming’s early departure, the Rocket’s have had the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and league-leading rebounder back on the roster, grabbing rebounds, scoring points, and blocking shots.

The contributions of the 7 foot 2 inch native of Zaire reach far beyond the confines of the NBA. The Georgetown University graduate has forged a legacy of community service in the United States and Africa. He created the Dikembe Mutombo foundation in 1997 to improve the health, education, and quality of life for people in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The vision of this foundation has been the construction and opening of the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center, a 300-bed hospital in Kinshasa named after his late mother. He donated $15 million of his own money to help build the hospital.

He also donated $150,000 to help underprivileged children in South Africa. He participates in the NBA’s Basketball without Borders program as well as the NBA and UNICEF “United for Children, Unite against AIDS” campaign. He paid for uniforms and expenses for the Zaire women's basketball team during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.