Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo -- one of the greatest defensive basketball players ever -- has died after a battle with brain cancer. He was 58 years old.
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00:00Welcome back to TMZ Sports, Mike and Mojo.
00:08Mojo, absolutely tragic news touching the, not just the NBA world, the entire sports community around the world today.
00:19NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo has passed away at the age of 58 years old.
00:24Some people may have been aware that Dikembe had been diagnosed with brain cancer back in 2022, courageously fought the disease.
00:33And unfortunately, again, today we learned that Dikembe had passed away.
00:38I mean, you can't overstate his impact.
00:42Mojo, he did so much great stuff on the basketball court.
00:47I mean, on the basketball court, he might not have been a prolific scorer, but Dikembe Mutombo was the definition of a guy who protected the rim and just, like, stay out of my paint.
00:59Because if you took that ball at Dikembe, he was going to send that thing back.
01:04And then you'd have to look at that finger wave afterwards, Mojo.
01:07He was a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, one of only three men to ever accomplish that feat.
01:14He was an eight-time All-Star.
01:15He, you know, all the other accolades, I could sit here and list them out one by one and be here for a long time, Mojo.
01:21But you look at what he did away from the basketball court and as much of an impact as he had on the hardwood, he had even a larger impact off of the court.
01:30And he did so much stuff in America and in Africa to help so many different people.
01:36And this is going to be a loss that a lot of people are going to feel now.
01:40The NBA actually made the announcement a little bit earlier today.
01:43Commissioner Adam Silver had this to say about the big man.
01:47Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life.
01:50On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA.
01:55Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.
01:59I am one of the many people whose lives were touched by Dikembe's big heart, and I will miss him dearly.
02:05On behalf of the entire NBA family, I send my deepest condolences to Dikembe's wife, Rose, and their children, his many friends, and the global basketball community, which he truly loved and which loved him back.
02:20Mojo, I think that says it perfectly from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
02:24Dikembe, as you know, he was an absolutely massive guy.
02:31In physical stature, in heart too.
02:34I remember a clip, Mojo, and this is probably my favorite clip that we ever had of Mutombo.
02:39He was always awesome with our TMZ camera people out there in the streets whenever we'd run into him.
02:44I remember a time from about a decade ago, Mojo, where Mutombo, 7'1", 7'2"-ish, was trying to rent a car.
02:52And when you're as big as he is, that's an absolute nightmare.
02:56We happened to be there with our cameras as Mutombo was trying to figure this out.
03:01How do I even fit in this car?
03:02Here is Dikembe Mutombo.
03:32Do you ever think small guys ever have this problem?
03:36I don't think so.
03:37Only big guys.
03:39Okay.
03:40All right.
03:41Drive safe, man.
03:43Mojo, he just took one look at that red car and he said, no, this is not going to work.
03:47It's not going to work.
03:50I'm surprised any of those cars worked.
03:52That guy was huge.
03:54I mean, we are talking about Dikembe Mutombo.
04:00Babcock, this was one of my favorite basketball players when I was younger.
04:05He was absolutely unreal.
04:07Look, a lot of fans, they like their three-point shooters and they like their slam dunks, dunking over somebody.
04:15My favorite thing in basketball was always rejecting someone's shot.
04:21When someone goes up for a dunk and you just swat that thing clean across the court, the disrespect that goes into that,
04:30especially when you follow it up with one of these right here.
04:35Oh, my gosh.
04:36I used to block shots when I was a kid and shout out Mutombo's name afterwards as a tribute to him.
04:41I mean, this was that guy.
04:43I mean, just added a completely, completely different element to the game.
04:48One of the most loved but yet feared players on the court.
04:52You had to think twice about going up on Mutombo's rim right there.
04:56But, you know, this is a guy that did so much for charity, so much for the community,
05:03maybe more than just about anybody in the entire sport.
05:07There's a reason he had a reputation for this thing, but also just so funny.
05:12Some of the commercials that he did for brands back in the day were great.
05:17I remember one in particular at a supermarket swatting boxes of cereal across the aisles with the kids, you know,
05:25like just crushing their shots.
05:27It was so entertaining to me.
05:29So this one definitely heard a little bit extra Babcock.
05:32I mean, Mutombo is irreplaceable.
05:35His impact on the game and outside of it is exactly what people should aspire to be,
05:41you know, not just in this country, but all over the globe.
05:47MUTOMBO