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Flashback Friday: Dikembe Mutombo

By Mathew Huff

Sep 11, 2015; Springfield, MA, USA; Dikembe Mutombo speaks during the 2015 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Springfield Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2015; Springfield, MA, USA; Dikembe Mutombo speaks during the 2015 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Springfield Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 8, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (right) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (center) with Dikembe Mutombo (left) during the game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 8, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (right) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (center) with Dikembe Mutombo (left) during the game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /

Dikembe Mutombo is not just a NBA legend, he is also a Denver Nuggets legend and for good reason.

Dikembe Mutumbo is an icon when it comes to Mile High basketball. Sometimes, he is more recognizable than the great Alex English in a throwback Nuggets jersey to a fault. While it is a debate on which Nuggets legend is the greatest, Mutumbo is in the conversation at the very least.

He was a premier shot blocker during his career and led the Nuggets to upset the SuperSonics as an eighth seed in the 90’s. This reason this is significant is because Denver was the first team in NBA history to pull off this feat. Mutumbo was the tip of the spear behind this effort. Without him, the Nuggets may not have been able to defeat the SuperSonics that year. Seattle was loaded that season with the likes of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp while being coached by eventual Nuggets coach, George Karl.

Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets /

Denver Nuggets

Even after his time in the Mile High, he still made his presence known in a positive way with a few other teams. Many forget that he was a part of the 2001 Philadelphia 76er team that made it to the Finals which was led by the electrifying Allen Iverson, who is also a Denver legend in his own right. He even had a brief stint in Houston where he played alongside a dynamic duo in Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.

Where the rim protector really made a name for himself though, was in Denver. One cannot forget what he did for Nuggets basketball and the image of him holding the basketball while lying down on the court in disbelief after upsetting the Sonics in 1994 may be the most iconic moment in the Nuggets’ history.

When it comes to the greats who have dawned a Nuggets jersey, Dikembe Mutombo is in that prestigious realm of the elite players who played in the Mile High.

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