50 Greatest NBA Players Without A Championship (Updated Through 2015-16)
By Phil Watson
13. Dikembe Mutombo
Denver Nuggets 1991-96, Atlanta Hawks 1996-01, Philadelphia 76ers 2001-02, New Jersey Nets 2002-03, New York Knicks 2003-04, Houston Rockets 2004-09
The Denver Nuggets took a chance on a raw Georgetown center named Dikembe Mutombo with the fourth overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft and never regretted the selection.
Mutombo was a three-time All-Star in Denver and was an All-Defensive second team selection in 1994-95, the same year he was named Defensive Player of the Year for the first time. Mutombo led the league in blocks three straight seasons (1993-94 through 1995-96) while with the Nuggets.
In 1994, Mutombo helped the Nuggets become the first No. 8 seed to ever beat a No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs as Denver shocked the Seattle SuperSonics in Game 5 at Seattle Center Coliseum. The Nuggets then pushed the Utah Jazz to seven games before bowing out in the second round.
In July 1996, Mutombo signed as a free agent with the Hawks, where he was an All-NBA third teamer in 1997-98, an All-Defensive selection three times and a four-time All-Star.
He was also the Defensive Player of the Year in 1996-97 and 1997-98, his second and third times winning the award. Mutombo was the NBA’s leading rebounder in 1999-2000, as well.
But in four full seasons with Atlanta, the Hawks never got past the second round of the playoffs.
In February 2001, Mutombo was traded to the 76ers as part of a six-player deal. He played parts of two seasons in Philadelphia and was a two-time All-NBA selection, a two-time All-Defensive choice and an All-Star in 2002.
In 2000-01, the season split between the Hawks and Sixers, Mutombo picked up his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award and led the league in rebounding again.
That year also marked the first appearance in the NBA Finals for Mt. Mutombo. Philadelphia beat the Indiana Pacers in the first round and took seventh games from both the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks to get out of the Eastern Conference before going down to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in a five-game NBA Finals.
In August 2002, Mutombo was on the move again, this time traded to New Jersey.
Mutombo was limited to 24 games because of an injury, but returned late in the season and the Nets beat the Bucks in the first round in 2003 before sweeping the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons to reach the NBA Finals for the second straight season. But the San Antonio Spurs took out New Jersey in six games.
Waived by the Nets in October 2003, Mutombo signed with the Knicks. Again limited by injuries, this time to 65 games, the Knicks were swept by the Nets in the first round.
In August 2004, Mutombo was part of a six-player deal that sent him to the Chicago Bulls, but the Bulls swapped in to the Rockets for three players in September.
With Houston, Mutombo was primarily a backup center and the Rockets only got out of the first round once, in 2009, when they beat the Portland Trail Blazers before going down in seven games to the Lakers, who would go on to win the title.
In retirement, Mutombo does a great deal of humanitarian work in his native Democratic Republic of Congo and also serves on the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
He is second in NBA history with 3,289 blocked shots and his average of 2.8 blocks per game ranks seventh on the all-time list. He was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
The final tally on Mutombo’s playoff career:
NBA Finals: 0-2
Conference Finals: 2-0
Conference Semifinals: 2-4
First Round: 6-7
Next: 12. Iceman Frozen Out Of Finals