The NBA world was dealt a crushing blow on Monday morning when it was announced legendary big man Dikembe Mutombo had passed away due to brain cancer at the age of 58. Mutombo is widely regarded as one of the best defensive players of all time, as he was a four-time Defensive Player of the Year who was notorious for his finger-wag celebration whenever he blocked an opponent's shot.
After news of Mutombo's death came out, tributes from folks all over the world began pouring in. Some old clips of the Hall of Fame center also began to emerge, with a video of Mutombo trash-talking Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan over his inability to dunk on him popping back up. Unsurprisingly, Jordan eventually managed to dunk on Mutombo, making him eat his words.
Michael Jordan eventually made Dikembe Mutombo eat his words
Mutombo hilariously claimed that while Jordan's teammate Scottie Pippen had managed to dunk on him, MJ had never managed to get the best of him. A pair of clips in the video above show Mutombo flaunting that accomplishment on Jordan, who believed that he had managed to put Mutombo on a poster earlier in his career.
Sure enough, Jordan took that as a challenge, and he ended up dunking on Mutombo during Game 5 of their 1997 Eastern Conference semifinals series. Considering how the Bulls eliminated the Atlanta Hawks in this game, seeing Jordan do Mutombo's popular finger-wag celebration in his face surely only added more of a sting to this play.
These old clips of Mutombo prove that he was a larger than life figure in the NBA, and it's a shame that his life has come to a premature conclusion. There will surely be more reminiscing of memories and old clips like these being dug up over the coming weeks, but everyone will likely wish that they weren't reflecting on Mutombo because of his tragic death.