Denver Nuggets: How dominant was Mutombo?

There is no question that Dikembe Mutombo is the poster child for great defensive big men who have suited up for the Denver Nuggets.

Just how great on the defensive end of the floor was he is the real question?

More from Nugg Love

• Was trading Bones Hyland a mistake for the Denver Nuggets?
• Did Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets break Anthony Davis?
• Denver Nuggets stars face serious disrespect in recent NBA rankings poll
• What will it take for Denver Nuggets star to become ‘inevitable?’
• Denver Nuggets NBA Training Camp report, other preseason dates to know

We all remember the signature finger wag Mutombo would do after blocking a shot. We all remember him on the floor with the ball after the Denver Nuggets became the first eight seed to upset a one seed in the 1994 playoffs.

However, what often gets overlooked are his other intangibles on the defensive side of the floor. Per basketball reference, Mutombo was a solid defender all around, not just when it came to blocking shots.

During his Denver Nuggets’ tenure, he averaged a defensive rating of 101 including a season where he had an insane rating of only 96 in this same category. He also possesses an impressive defensive win share total of 25.7 for his career with the Nuggets. It should be noted this is significantly higher than his offensive win share total with Denver (13.6).

Mutombo also had a nice block percentage of 6.8% as a Denver Nugget. This was his high highest total out of all of his tenures in the NBA. He also had a defensive rebounding percentage of 25.6% which is very close to his career average of 26.2%. He was a monster on the boards just like Shaq in his prime was, a fact some seem to forget quite often.

As one can see, the advanced metrics, regardless of how you may feel about numbers, also show how great of a defender Dikembe Mutombo was throughout not just his Denver tenure, but his whole career as well.

Dikembe Mutombo may just be the greatest defender in Denver Nuggets’ history and he has the numbers and advanced metrics to back up this statement.