Dikembe Mutombo, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame center and global ambassador for the NBA, died at the age of 58 from brain cancer, the league announced on Monday. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mutombo was not just one of the most accomplished international players in NBA history, but one of the greatest rim protectors the modern game has ever seen.
How else would a guy who averaged less than 10 points per game for his career make eight All-Star teams and end up in the Hall of Fame? To be fair, he was a bit better scorer than that number would indicate during his prime, but his legacy as a player lies in his 3,289 career blocked shots, which ranks second all-time behind only the 3,830 blocks tallied by fellow African-born legend Hakeem Olajuwon.
It wasn’t the blocks, but the famous finger wag celebration with which Mutombo became synonymous that distinguished him during his playing days and continued, and will continue, to identify him to the masses of multiple generations.
Mutombo first broke out the finger wag in 1997 when he denied Clarence Weatherspoon on three straight point-blank shot attempts.
Countless players across myriad sports have adopted the finger wag and applied it to their particular trade. It has become something of a universal