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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTNBA legend. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Dikembe Mutombo
Career at a glance
Dikembe Mutombo played 18 NBA regular seasons between 1991 and 2009, appearing in 1,196 games and averaging 9.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. He played for 6 teams: Denver (1991–96, 391 games), Atlanta (1996–01, 343 games), Philadelphia (2000–02, 106 games), New Jersey (2002–03, 24 games), New York (2003–04, 65 games), Houston (2004–09, 267 games). His best scoring season was 1991–92 with Denver: 16.6 points per game over 71 games.
He rebounded best in 1999–00 at 14.1 per game. The season table marks him as the league leader in blocks 3 times, rebounding twice. In the playoffs he appeared in 13 postseason runs (101 games, 9.1 points per game).
Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 11,700 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total).
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player who played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "Mt. Mutombo", he is commonly regarded as one of the best shot-blockers and defensive players of all time. Outside of basketball, he was known for his humanitarian work.
A 7-foot-2-inch (2.18m) center, Mutombo moved to the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo at age 21 to attend Georgetown University with the hope of eventually earning a medical degree and returning to the DRC to practice medicine. Those plans changed when John Thompson, coach of the Georgetown Hoyas, recruited him to play college basketball. Mutombo played three seasons for Georgetown, establishing a reputation as a tenacious defender.
In 1991, the Denver Nuggets chose him with the fourth overall pick of the NBA draft. During his NBA career, he played for six teams, in the NBA Finals for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001 and for the New Jersey Nets in 2003. He received the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times, tied with Ben Wallace and Rudy Gobert for the most awards. He led the NBA in blocked shots three times, led the league in rebounds twice, and was named to eight All-Star teams. Mutombo, with 3,289 career blocks, ranks second among NBA career leaders in blocked shots.
- Born
- June 25, 1966 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Listed height
- 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
- Listed weight
- 260 lb (118 kg)
- Position
- Center
- High school
- Institute Boboto (Kinshasa, DR Congo)
- College
- Georgetown (1988–1991)
- NBA draft
- 1991: 1st round, 4th overall pick
- Playing career
- 1991–2009
Career highlights and awards
- 8× NBA All-Star (1992, 1995–1998, 2000–2002)
- All-NBA Second Team (2001)
- 2× All-NBA Third Team (1998, 2002)
- 4× NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001)
- 3× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1997, 1998, 2001)
- 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1995, 1999, 2002)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1992)
- 2× NBA rebounding leader (2000, 2001)
- 3× NBA blocks leader (1994–1996)
- No. 55 retired by Atlanta Hawks
- No. 55 retired by Denver Nuggets
- Third-team All-American – AP, UPI (1991)
- First-team All-Big East (1991)
- Second-team All-Big East (1990)
- 2× Big East Defensive Player of the Year (1990, 1991)
- 2x Big East All-Defensive team (1990, 1991)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | Denver | 71 | 71 | 38.3 | .493 | – | .642 | 12.3 | 2.2 | .6 | 3.0 | 16.6 |
| 1992–93 | Denver | 82 | 82 | 36.9 | .510 | – | .681 | 13.0 | 1.8 | .5 | 3.5 | 13.8 |
| 1993–94 | Denver | 82 | 82 | 34.8 | .569 | .000 | .583 | 11.8 | 1.5 | .7 | 4.1* | 12.0 |
| 1994–95 | Denver | 82* | 82* | 37.8 | .556 | – | .654 | 12.5 | 1.4 | .5 | 3.9* | 11.5 |
| 1995–96 | Denver | 74 | 74 | 36.7 | .499 | .000 | .695 | 11.8 | 1.5 | .5 | 4.5* | 11.0 |
| 1996–97 | Atlanta | 80 | 80 | 37.2 | .527 | – | .705 | 11.6 | 1.4 | .6 | 3.3 | 13.3 |
| 1997–98 | Atlanta | 82* | 82* | 35.6 | .537 | – | .670 | 11.4 | 1.0 | .4 | 3.4 | 13.4 |
| 1998–99 | Atlanta | 50* | 50* | 36.6 | .512 | – | .684 | 12.2 | 1.1 | .3 | 2.9 | 10.8 |
| 1999–00 | Atlanta | 82 | 82* | 36.4 | .562 | – | .708 | 14.1* | 1.3 | .3 | 3.3 | 11.5 |
| 2000–01 | Atlanta | 49 | 49 | 35.0 | .477 | – | .695 | 14.1 | 1.1 | .4 | 2.8 | 9.1 |
| 2000–01 | Philadelphia | 26 | 26 | 33.7 | .495 | – | .759 | 12.4* | .8 | .3 | 2.5 | 11.7 |
| 2001–02 | Philadelphia | 80 | 80 | 36.3 | .501 | – | .764 | 10.8 | 1.0 | .4 | 2.4 | 11.5 |
| 2002–03 | New Jersey | 24 | 16 | 21.4 | .374 | – | .727 | 6.4 | .8 | .2 | 1.5 | 5.8 |
| 2003–04 | New York | 65 | 56 | 23.0 | .478 | – | .681 | 6.7 | .4 | .3 | 1.9 | 5.6 |
| 2004–05 | Houston | 80 | 2 | 15.2 | .498 | – | .741 | 5.3 | .1 | .2 | 1.3 | 4.0 |
| 2005–06 | Houston | 64 | 23 | 14.9 | .526 | – | .758 | 4.8 | .1 | .3 | .9 | 2.6 |
| 2006–07 | Houston | 75 | 33 | 17.2 | .556 | – | .690 | 6.5 | .2 | .3 | 1.0 | 3.1 |
| 2007–08 | Houston | 39 | 25 | 15.9 | .538 | – | .711 | 5.1 | .1 | .3 | 1.2 | 3.0 |
| 2008–09 | Houston | 9 | 2 | 10.7 | .385 | – | .667 | 3.7 | .0 | .0 | 1.2 | 1.8 |
| Career | 1196 | 997 | 30.8 | .518 | .000 | .684 | 10.3 | 1.0 | .4 | 2.8 | 9.8 | |
| All-Star | 8 | 3 | 17.5 | .595 | – | .750 | 9.3 | .3 | .4 | 1.2 | 6.3 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Denver | 12 | 12 | 42.6 | .463 | – | .602 | 12.0 | 1.8 | .7 | 5.8* | 13.3 |
| 1995 | Denver | 3 | 3 | 28.0 | .600 | – | .667 | 6.3 | .3 | .0 | 2.3 | 6.0 |
| 1997 | Atlanta | 10 | 10 | 41.5 | .628* | – | .719 | 12.3 | 1.3 | .1 | 2.6 | 15.4 |
| 1998 | Atlanta | 4 | 4 | 34.0 | .458 | – | .625 | 12.8 | .3 | .3 | 2.3 | 8.0 |
| 1999 | Atlanta | 9 | 9 | 42.2 | .563 | – | .702 | 13.9* | 1.2 | .6 | 2.6 | 12.6 |
| 2001 | Philadelphia | 23 | 23 | 42.7 | .490 | .000 | .777 | 13.7 | .7 | .7 | 3.1* | 13.9 |
| 2002 | Philadelphia | 5 | 5 | 34.6 | .452 | – | .615 | 10.6 | .6 | .4 | 1.8 | 8.8 |
| 2003 | New Jersey | 10 | 0 | 11.5 | .467 | – | 1.000 | 2.7 | .6 | .3 | .9 | 1.8 |
| 2004 | New York | 3 | 0 | 12.7 | .333 | – | 1.000 | 3.3 | .0 | .3 | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| 2005 | Houston | 7 | 0 | 14.4 | .545 | – | .769 | 5.0 | .3 | .3 | 1.0 | 3.1 |
| 2007 | Houston | 7 | 0 | 5.7 | 1.000 | – | 1.000 | 1.6 | .1 | .0 | .4 | 1.3 |
| 2008 | Houston | 6 | 6 | 20.5 | .615 | – | .636 | 6.5 | .3 | .2 | 1.8 | 3.8 |
| 2009 | Houston | 2 | 0 | 10.0 | .000 | – | – | 4.5 | .0 | .5 | 1.0 | .0 |
| Career | 101 | 72 | 30.9 | .517 | .000 | .703 | 9.5 | .8 | .4 | 2.5 | 9.1 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–89 | Georgetown | 33 | 0 | 11.3 | .707 | – | .479 | 3.3 | .2 | .3 | 2.3 | 3.9 |
| 1989–90 | Georgetown | 31 | 24 | 25.7 | .709 | – | .598 | 10.5 | .6 | .4 | 4.1 | 10.7 |
| 1990–91 | Georgetown | 32 | 32 | 34.1 | .586 | – | .703 | 12.2 | 1.6 | .6 | 4.7 | 15.2 |
| Career | 96 | 56 | 23.6 | .644 | – | .641 | 8.6 | .8 | .4 | 3.7 | 9.9 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 7′ 2″
- Weight
- 260 lb
- Position
- Center
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1991
- Draft pick
- Round 1 · Pick 4
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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