NBA legend and former Philadelphia 76er Dikembe Mutombo passed away at the age of 58 due to brain cancer.
"There aren't many guys like him, just a great human being," Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey told the media on Monday. "When I was a rookie GM in this league, my first chance in Houston, he was someone I went to all of the time who was older than me."
76ers current center Joel Embiid, who like Mutombo was born in Africa, spoke about the loss.
Mutombo was acquired by the Sixers during the 2001 trade deadline, and helped Allen Iverson and Philadelphia get over the hump and win an Eastern Conference Championship, eventually losing in the NBA Finals to Shaq, Kobe and Los Angeles Lakers.
Mutombo was an eight-time All-Star, four-time defensive player of the year, three-time All-NBA defensive first-team, three-time blocks leader, and an All-NBA second-teamer in 2001.
The former 7'2" center was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.