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Anthony Gharib, ESPN
The Atlanta Hawks will honor basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo on Monday with a handful of clever tributes.
A new court decal featuring the silhouette of Mutombo doing his trademark finger wag will be added to the State Farm Arena bench for the game against the Dallas Mavericks. It matches a special floor that matches Atlanta’s City Edition blue and white uniforms.
Players will wear special pregame shooting jerseys featuring Mutombo’s finger wag, and every time a Hawks player records a block, the center’s iconic “No, No, No” will play throughout the arena.
“The Mutombo family would like to express its sincere gratitude to Tony Ressler, Jami Gertz, Grant Hill, Steve Koonin and the entire Atlanta Hawks organization,” the Mutombo family said. saying in a press release. “Their tribute to Dikembe’s incredible basketball career with the Hawks and his humanitarian work both in Atlanta and around the world means a lot to us. Dikembe had a special bond with the Hawks and their devoted fans.”
A video celebrating Mutumbo’s “profound impact both on and off the pitch throughout his illustrious career” will be shown at halftime. The Mutombo family will also be honored during the event.
Mutumbo, who died of brain cancer at age 58 in September, appeared in 343 games with the franchise from 1996 to 2001. The Philadelphia 76ers acquired him in a trade during the 2000-01 season.
He is the franchise leader in blocks per game and third in total blocks. His 3,289 career blocks are the second-most in NBA history. The Hawks retired his number 55 jersey in 2015.
“I don’t think I ever thought they would retire my jersey,” Mutombo told reporters at the time. “My name will remain forever.”
