He was one of the Brain Doctor’s most famous “patients”, though he never was an actual patient. Rather, he was a rare example of a #14 BCIR who Jon Niednagel highlighted in his first ever sports book back in the early 1990s. And when ABC News aired their televised Saturday night special in 1998, highlighting 3 cutting-edge technologies, Niednagel and Brain Typing captured the attention of many nationally. One of the teasers used by ABC to garner viewer attention was to compare NBA star Dikembe Mutombo with Albert Einstein, both sharing the #14 BT according to Niednagel.
There was no one else of his unique design in the NBA, and since then, none that we have seen. Yes, Dikembe Mutombo was a rare “specimen”, but more importantly, a wonderful human being. Intelligent, kind, and a gifted shot-blocker, Dikembe in fact retired as the second all-time shot-blocker in NBA history, with a combined 3,289 rejections (#6 BEIR Hakeem Olajuwon holds the record). Sadly, last month, Mutombo passed away at the young age of 58 from brain cancer.
Joel Embiid (#9 FCAR) said of Dikembe, “It’s a sad day, especially for us Africans — and really the whole world — because, other than what he’s accomplished on the basketball court, I think he was even better off the court.” Mutombo amazingly spoke nine different languages, while also founding the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, which built a 170-bed hospital in Kinshasa, Africa, which has treated nearly a half-million people, regardless of their ability to pay for care.
Dikembe himself was born and raised in the Republic of Congo. He was also deeply religious. “The Almighty has plans for us to make a place so we can go on and make a difference,” he once stated. “It all has to do with my faith.” Other #14 BCIRs have included Steven Spielberg, Nelson Mendela, and Jane Goodall.
We’ll miss the gentle giant, and genius, Dikembe Mutombo.
Written by: Staff
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