Former Sixers All-Star Dikembe Mutombo passes away at 58

Former Philadelphia Sixers center Dikembe Mutombo has passed away at the age of 58 from brain cancer.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement today: " On behalf of the entire NBA family, I send my deepest condolences to Dikembe's wife, Rose, and their children, his many friends, and the global basketball community, which he truly loved and which loved him back."

Mutumbo was a key figure on the Sixers 2000-2001 team that made a run to the NBA finals, coming over in a trade from the Atlanta Hawks along with Roshown McLeod, in exchange for Toni Kukoč, Pepe Sánchez, Nazr Mohammed, and  Theo Ratliff.

Ratliff was an all-star that season for Philadelphia but was sent to Atlanta to acquire Mutumbo who was one of the top defensive players of that era.

While his time in Philadelphia was short, he became a popular figure even after his tenure with the organization.

During his two seasons, he appeared in 106 games, averaging 11.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 35. 7 minutes per game. He made the All-Star game in 2022 with the Sixers and finished All-NBA second-team defense, All-NBA Third team, and third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.

After the 2021-2022 season, the Sixers sent Mutumbo to the Nets in exchange for Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch.

He was an eight-time all-star and four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and in 2015, he became a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

On October 15, 2022, Mutombo announced that he was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, and today he passed away at 58 years of age.