Atlanta Hawks: Dikembe Mutombo’s Deserved Recognition
By Adam McGee
Dikembe Mutombo‘s jersey retirement was important to not only acknowledge his work off the court, but to also remind people of his play with the Atlanta Hawks, and elsewhere.
On Tuesday night at Philips Arena, Dikembe Mutombo became the fourth man in history to have his jersey retired by the Atlanta Hawks, as the organization recognized a glittering career on the court and a remarkable legacy off of it.
It was a special night for everybody close to the Hawks as Mutombo joined the most exclusive club in the franchise, joining Bob Pettit, Lou Hudson and Dominique Wilkins by having his jersey raised to the rafters in Philips Arena.
Among those present for the half-time ceremony were NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed, former Hawks teammate and now NBA TV broadcaster Steve Smith, as well as Hawks owner Tony Ressler.
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After Silver had spoken of his pride at being present to see the arena become “the House of Mutombo,” Reed acknowledged Mutombo’s charitable work in the community and bestowed the Phoenix Award (the highest honor that can be issued upon a person by the city of Atlanta) upon Mutombo, before declaring Dikembe Mutombo Day throughout the city.
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Mutombo is widely publicized as being one of the most charitable figures and one of the greatest humanitarians to ever pass through the NBA. His work with NBA Cares, his own organization and most notably his efforts in his native Congo and across the continent of Africa have been evidence of his incredible kindness for many years.
On a night such as a jersey retirement though, it’s important not to lose sight of Mutombo the player too though.
Maybe, it says more about our sports culture, and how rare it can be to see an athlete use their profile and wealth for good that this is the part of Mutombo that gets highlighted most now. That’s not a bad thing either, as what Mutombo has invested much of his post-playing days in is far greater than the game of basketball.
Yet now that his No. 55 jersey hangs from the rafters in Atlanta, it’s a spot that fans will look to in the southeast corner for years to come, and they’ll still want to remember and reminisce about the force of nature that was, Dikembe the player.
Mutombo had already earned his place in the greater landscape of the game, he was recently immortalized as a player in the Basketball Hall of Fame, while his community work has been recognized on two occasions by the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.
Although he only played four-and-a-half seasons with the Hawks, Mutombo’s impact on the franchise is beyond question.
For his time in Atlanta, Mutombo commanded the middle like not many others had before him or will in the future, averaging 11.9 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks and just under 53 percent shooting from the field in more than 340 games.
He’s the franchise leader in blocks per game and defensive rating, as well as ranking third per game in rebounds and fourth in field goal percentage.
Center play doesn’t get much more consistent and dominant than what Mutombo brought to Atlanta. With Mutombo on board, if not a legitimate contender, the Hawks were at least the team that Eastern Conference heavyweights like Chicago, New York and Indiana didn’t want to come up against.
Mutombo won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in his first two seasons with the Hawks, all while helping the team to back-to-back 50 win seasons. That was the first time that the franchise had seen those heights since the heady days of Dominique Wilkins’ peak a decade earlier.
Speaking to KL Chouinard of Hawks.com, Mutombo relived the sort of feeling that he and his teammates were able to bring to Atlanta basketball during a time of great change for the franchise:
"We transformed the city of Atlanta. We were winning. We averaged over 30,000 people a game at the Georgia Dome. You know, it was one of the amazing moments for me: playing in front of 62,000 people at the Georgia Dome for a game in Atlanta. You cannot take that away from me. You cannot."
With words like those, it seems like no coincidence that now is the time for the Hawks to give Mutombo the recognition he deserves. The parallels are there for sure. Last season as the Hawks put together their most successful season since the franchise relocated to Atlanta, they did so against a backdrop of rebranding, and leadership and ownership changes.
The fans bought in too. There was a new energy at Hawks games, and with “True to Atlanta” becoming the team’s motto, it felt like they truly did become the city’s team again.
It takes special players and people to create that sort of feeling. The Hawks are lucky to have a number of candidates who fit that bill at the moment and will continue to look to build on last year’s progress, but for the 90s, it was the inimitable Dikembe Mutombo who wore that crown.
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His work away from basketball deserves the highest praise, but for Hawks fans, they’ll always remember how he contributed to building a culture around the team, and giving nothing but his best on the court. Whenever he stepped foot on an NBA floor, those around him were left in little doubt that they were in Dikembe Mutombo’s house.