Jazz F Oscar Tshiebwe Remembers Call With Dikembe Mutombo
Sep 30, 2024, 3:32 PM | Updated: 5:38 pm
Dikembe Mutombo #55 of the Houston Rockets (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – New Utah Jazz forward Oscar Tshiebwe remembers his only conversation with NBA legend and fellow Congolese native Dikembe Mutombo.
Mutombo, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame passed away Monday at age 58 from brain cancer.
Related: Utah Jazz Sign Oscar Tshiebwe
Tshiebwe Remembers Dikembe Mutombo
Tshiebwe signed with the Jazz on a two-way this offseason, but his basketball journey began long before he landed in Utah.
The forward moved to the United States in 2015, one year after he began playing basketball in Africa, and quickly learned he had a knack for rebounding at the high school level.
“Every time they miss, I get it,” Tshiebwe said of his rebounding. “If I can finish, I finish, if I miss, I keep fighting until we score.”
Oscar Tshiebwe’s National Player of the Year Season at Kentucky🏆 (21-22) pic.twitter.com/vtBg1OPFWp
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) February 22, 2024
After winning two state championships and earning the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year award, Tshiebwe was one of the top high school recruits in the country.
That led to his lone conversation with Mutombo who was helping fellow Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing recruit prospects to their alma mater.
“I just see Patrick Ewing is calling me, I picked up the phone [and said] ‘Hey Coach,’ and he was like ‘Hey, this is Dikembe,'” Tshiebwe remembered. “I said, ‘Who is this? Wow, man, you’ve got a deep voice.'”
Though Tshiebwe wound up at West Virginia before finishing his college career at Kentucky, he still remembers Mutombo’s recruiting pitch to get him to Georgetown.
“He said, ‘Oscar, you’ve got to come to Georgetown,’ I say, ‘Why have I got to come over there?'” Tshiebwe recalled. “He said, ‘You’ve got to come here, we’re going to teach you how to break people’s nose.'”
Mutombo More Than Just An NBA Legend
Tshiebwe and Mutombo are two of just seven Congolese natives to ever play in the NBA, a list that includes former Jazzman Emmanuel Mudiay, free agent center Bismack Biyombo, and current Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga.
More than being remembered as one of the greatest defensive players in league history, Mutombo was a humanitarian.
“He helped a lot of Congolese build the hospital,” Tshiebwe said. “The hospital is number one in Congo and they are taking care of a lot of people.”
Today @Oscartshiebwe34 shared his emotions about the recent passing of NBA HOF Dikembe Mutombo at #NBAMediaDay 🙏#TakeNote #ItStartsHere pic.twitter.com/EQINZLEmU3
— Salt Lake City Stars (@slcstars) September 30, 2024
Mutombo has helped build schools in his native Congo, spread access to the polio vaccine, and earned an honorary Doctorate from Georgetown for his humanitarian efforts.
“I was really heartbroken, and I just went to my knee and I prayed, and I said, ‘God, be with his family and let him rest in peace,'” Tshiebwe said. “He was a man who really cared for a lot of people, and he was there for people.”
After going undrafted in 2023, Tshiebwe signed with the Indiana Pacers on a two-way contract.
The forward averaged 16.2 points and 16.0 rebounds in 23 appearances with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G League.
Mutombo played 18 years in the NBA averaging 9.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game. He earned eight All-Star appearances and was named to three All-NBA teams.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
