Dikembe Mutombo has unexpectedly passed away. I had no idea until my son emailed me to let me know. This is shocking to me. He was only 58 years old. I have not seen any cause of death, but this is still very upsetting Editor’s note: Since Ty wrote this article it has been announced that Dikembe Mutombo died of brain cancer.

I was a Mutombo fan as a kid. He did break my heart when I was younger, when the 8th seeded Nuggets beat the 1 seed Super Sonics, my favorite team. But even in that series, I found Mutombo endlessly watchable. He was such a presence. I remember seeing him on the court and being blown away that someone so big could move so nimbly. He was an absolute menace on the court. He was a rebounding monster, but it was his defense that made me enjoy watching him play. It was damn near impossible to score on him. If he was near any floater or layup, he usually swatted it away. And then he would wag his finger, saying "no no no". I loved this. I used to do it when I would play pickup with my friends. If we played on a small hoop, so we could dunk, if I swatted away a dunk, the finger wag was the go to move. Mutombo made this celebration the best thing at the time, and now people are trying to use it and claim it as their own. The finger wag will always be Mutombo's thing. He invented it, it is his and it will always be his.

Mutombo also played for the Nuggets when they had their coolest jerseys. I really liked the dark navy with the gold and other colors. It was a jersey I coveted as a kid. I never had one, but my friends who had one, it was almost always a Mutombo jersey. That number 55 has always been, for me, Mutombo's number. He was, and always will be, the best 55 in the NBA.

Coming out of Georgetown he was already a stout defender. That is why he was the fourth overall pick. While with the Nuggets, he bulked up, blocked all kinds of shots, rebounded well and scored when needed. He was the anchor of the defense and the heart and soul of the team. He moved on to the Hawks after five seasons. He was just as good with Atlanta as he was with Denver. He became an all NBA player while there. He won three Defensive Player of the Year awards while with Atlanta and was on the all defensive team. He led the league in rebounding twice. He was good enough with Denver and Atlanta that they both retired his jersey. He then went to play with Allen Iverson in Philly for two years. He helped Iverson and the 76ers reach the finals. They went up against a juggernaut in the Kobe-Shaq Lakers. But still, Iverson and Mutumbo were the only big names that the 76ers team had. He then went to the Knicks for a season and finished his career off with the Rockets. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabaar for second most blocks all time in the NBA. He was Yao Ming's backup, but was integral to the team. He even had a 20 rebound game when he was 40 years old. He retired and was a sure fire Hall of Fame player.

Mt Mutumbo was a great center. He was the last of a dying breed. He wasn't a scorer, nor did he care about scoring. He wanted to grab boards and block shots. He wanted to do the dirty work and then wag his finger after every block. It was a thing of beauty when he would block a shot and say "no no no". Rest in Peace Dikembe Mutumbo. This is stunning and shocking and you will be missed. I hope you are blocking shots wherever you are now. 

Ty

 Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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