Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo, commonly referred to as Dikembe Mutombo, is a Congolese American retired professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association. Outside basketball, he has become known for his humanitarian work...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth25 June 1966
CityKinshasa, DR Congo
CountryUnited States of America
average bread cheese cost food market pay salary school sell selling taught
My mother taught us to sell food in the market so we could pay for school. I would get up at 4:30 A.M. and start selling bread and cheese before going to class. School cost $65. The average salary was $125 a year, and with 10 kids, how are you going to pay for that?
banana broken calling cannot congo growing kid stand tall time took uncle
I was not very strong growing up, and my uncle used to look at me, like, 'This kid is not growing up, he is growing tall but he can be broken like a banana.' The banana in Congo is called 'Dikembe.' So my uncle start calling me, 'Dikembe, Dikembe, look at you Dikembe, you cannot even stand up.' It took a long time for me to walk.
miss
Every day, the sun comes out and the sky's always blue. That's what I miss about Denver.
college dollars funny mandatory millions opportunity required wear
It was mandatory in college that we had to wear a suit. I think it's kind of funny ? now we get the opportunity to make millions and millions of dollars and we're required to wear suits. Well, we were required to wear them in college when we made nothing.
gets shoes
Everyone gets their shoes made at that place.
couple music news talk tourists
It will have all the news from Africa. We have music. We have a couple of talk shows. We have tourists shows. We have history.
nba organization ambassadors
It's easy to be a spokesman and ambassador for a great organization like the NBA. I thank Commissioner David Stern for putting that trust in me to serve the NBA around the globe.
basketball mind language
I usually just speak in English when I'm on the basketball court. For some reason, my mind never even tried to cross any other language when I'm playing basketball.
president trying firsts
I am not in politics. 'President Mutombo?' No, no, no. There has never been a politician in my family, and I am not going to try to be the first one.
jobs sorry mistake
I don't think God said we should all be soft. My job is to compete, and the best prevails. I will continue to play, and that's the way I'm succeeding in my life. If I hit you by mistake, all I can say is 'I'm sorry,' and I keep moving on.
nba helping chance
I've always felt obligated to help those less fortunate than me. It's an obligation that anyone who has a chance to be in the NBA should feel and act upon.
memories thinking years
My favorite memory is my five years with the Nuggets. From my first day to my last day is a great memory. There wasn't a year that I was a Nugget that I didn't think we succeeded.
fortune family-values raised
I come from a large family, but I was not raised with a fortune. Something more was left me, and that was family values.
basketball nba games
When I travel around the globe, I try as hard as I can to represent the NBA and the game of basketball to the best of my abilities. I get to go around the world and not only share the game but also my philanthropic work. Building a hospital in the Congo is one of the proudest achievements of my life.