Greatest shot blocker in each NBA team’s history

Best shot blocker from Atlanta Hawks history: Dikembe Mutombo

Dikembe Mutombo was a very special player over the course of his 18-year career.

He wasn’t really much of a threat on the offensive end, averaging just 9.8 points per game. However, what he could do on the other end of the floor turned him into one of the most dominant defensive forces the game has ever seen. The future Basketball Hall of Famer could block shots like not many else in league history.

Standing at 7-foot-2 certainly helped his cause. Besides that, Mutombo had elite timing when it came to swatting opposing shots. It didn’t matter the type of fakes guys tried to get him to bite on, nor did it matter if they tried to shield the ball from his outstretched arms. “Mount Mutombo”  always found a way to get a hand on the shot.

Simply look in amazement at this list of accomplishments Mutombo achieved on the defensive end: Four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year — tied for the most all-time — league leader in blocks three times, rebounding two times and was named to one of the All-Defensive teams six times.

During his five-year stint with the Atlanta Hawks, he averaged a whopping 3.2 blocks per game. That being said, among the six teams he played with during his NBA tenure, that number isn’t even his best.

Mutombo certainly wasn’t a team’s prototypical best player. He also wasn’t the type of guy capable of leading a team to a championship. But what he did, he did at the highest level, providing elite rim-protection that didn’t allow for easy shots in the restricted area. This led to him having the second most blocked shots in NBA history with 3,289.