Four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, NBA Hall-of-famer Dikembe Mutombo, joined Dominique Wilkins, Bob Pettit and Lou Hudson by having his Hawks jersey retired on Tuesday night.
At halftime of the Hawks game against the Boston Celtics, a contest the Hawks would go on to win, the Atlanta faithful welcomed back one of the all-time greats to hang his jersey in the rafters.
He was accompanied by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Hawks principal owner Tony Ressler and CEO Steve Koonin, Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed, his former teammate Steve Smith and his family.
While Mutombo played more games and blocked more shots as a member of the Denver Nuggets, who drafted him fourth overall in 1991, his best moments were with the Hawks. He received two of his four NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards as the Hawks grew into a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference.
He retired in 2009 as a member of the Houston Rockets and in total, he played for six different franchises, never scored more than 17 points per game in a season but he did average double-digit rebounds and at least 2 blocks per game for 10 seasons. Interestingly enough, over the course of his 18-year career, he was teammates with 1978 Rookie of the Year Walter Davis and played against 2008 Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant.
Dikembe still calls Atlanta home to this day and he’s still wagging that finger.
Check out some of Dikembe’s best moments as a member of the Hawks.