When we were kids, “Dikembe Mutombo” was one of our first exposures to African names.

I’ve always liked that name. The way it rhymes and bounces. Due to NBA’s popularity, we used to doodle random basketball characters, and for the tallest dude we often tried to name him something similar to Mutombo.

Later on I learned about how he’s really good at blocking and popularized finger wagging each time he blocked someone’s shot. That’s really cool. I would pick Denver Nuggets in NBA Jam so I could play him. His character seemed to be extra good at blocking all these crazy dunks the opponents would do.

Farewell and thanks for everything, Mr. Mutombo.