http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5648730.html

Rockets, NBA pay tribute to Mutombo tonight
By FRAN BLINEBURY


They were going to hold a retirement party for Dikembe Mutombo tonight at Toyota Center.

Except he won't stop.

Last year when Yao Ming broke his leg, Mutombo picked his venerable body up off the bench and helped the Rockets hold their season together with a 20-12 record.

Last month, when Yao went down again with a stress fracture in his left foot, Mutombo, 41, stepped up once more, and the Rockets have remained in the hot playoff race with 12 wins in 15 games.

"He's done more for us than I would ever have expected," said coach Rick Adelman. "I can't think about next year. I'm sure he'll decide when it's time."

That time keeps getting pushed back over the horizon every time Mutumbo steps onto the court, blocks a shot, wags his finger, grabs a rebound and lopes down the floor with unbridled glee.

Senior citizen
The NBA's oldest player said back in training camp that this — his 17th — would be his final NBA season.

But now, with the Rockets and the NBA planning a halftime tribute during tonight's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he's not so sure.

"It is a celebration of Dikembe Mutombo's career as it's getting close to saying goodbye to the game," Mutombo said, laughing. "Am I putting it correctly or not?"

NBA commissioner David Stern and Rockets owner Leslie Alexander will honor the league's second-leading shot-blocker of all time and its foremost humanitarian. The Rockets will present Mutombo with an oil painting that depicts many of the key moments in his career, and Alexander will make a $500,000 donation to the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center, the 300-bed hospital named after his late mother that he built in his hometown of Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of Congo. Each fan will be given a commemorative foam finger in honor of his trademark finger wag after a blocked shot.

"I think it's a good ceremony and a great effort on behalf of the Rockets organization to dedicate a special night for me and the (17) years of my career," Mutombo said. "It seems like a long journey.

"I'm feeling like I've been invited to another State of the Union. I didn't think the commissioner was going to come."

Neither did Mutombo think he would get to this point in the season and still be feeling the pull of his teammates, the front office and the game he loves to return for another season.

"People are trying to get me to say, 'OK, I'm coming back,' " Mutombo said. "I don't want to say that right now.

"I want to play this year and go home. If I change my mind, I'll let you know. At some point, I have to come to the decision that I'm going to walk away from this game. If it doesn't happen today or tomorrow, someday it has to happen."

After one season with New York in 2003-04, Mutombo was told by then-general manager and now head coach of the Knicks Isiah Thomas that the day had come, and that blunt message has driven him for the past four years.

Wounded by Thomas
"It's still a wound," Mutombo said. "My wife and I still talk about it. It's still a bit sad to see the commissioner coming and all those people coming to celebrate the 17 years of my career and accomplishments and you look back and say that about (four) years ago, I had a guy tell me that I couldn't play basketball no more, to go to the beach and onto vacation. That's the same guy who's losing his job tomorrow.

"I never said nothing (to Thomas)," Mutombo said. "The last time we played at the Garden (Jan. 9), my wife asked me to go shake his hand, to just forgive him. I went and shook his hand and I told him, 'On behalf of my wife, I want to shake your hand and I forgive you for everything you've done to me.'

"He said, 'Tell your wife I said thank you so much.' That was the way to put it behind me.

"I think it helped me a lot. You might not be appreciated by everyone. But you have to fight your own war."

The Knicks traded his rights to Chicago in August 2004 and one month later he came to the Rockets, where he quickly became beloved.

"What can you get the man who could be the reincarnation of Mother Teresa," teammate Shane Battier said. "I don't think there is anything we could give him to signify how much we love him as a teammate and how much he means to the NBA. Honestly.

Hibernation over
"What he is doing is miraculous. Almost an old bear waking up from hibernation after a long winter's sleep and coming out and running up and down the court like a young bear again. I don't really think anybody expected him to repeat his success after Yao went down last year."

In a league and sport where offense is the focus of most attention, Mutombo carved out his career at the other end of the floor.

"I want to be remembered as one of the greatest defensive players to ever play this game," he said. "Right now, as we talk about it, I see myself falling into that class with Bill Russell, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, (Patrick) Ewing, (Alonzo) Mourning, David Robinson, Gary Payton and all those guys that were considered being a stopper. I feel like I'm in that class.

"There will be kids coming into the NBA that want to follow the footsteps of Dikembe Mutombo — being a great shot-blocker and a great defender."

There might also be kids coming into the NBA in another year or two who get to learn from him firsthand.

"Knowing him and knowing his heart," Battier said, "it's going to be very, very, very difficult for him to sign his retirement papers when the time comes."

If it ever does.

Good for him. He seems like an awesome guy. I can still remember him, laying on the court, holding a basketball in both hands, smiling from ear to ear, as he just helped the Nuggets beat the Sonics. It was one of the cooler basketball moments I remember from when I was a kid.

while more than 50% of the league is looking to purchase that new whip...he's building a hospital.

deke is a bum. good thing we got rid of him or our All-Star center Eddy Curry wouldn't have blossomed and improved his rebounding, defense, and shotblocking. keeping dikembe here would have def. hampered his growth in those areas.

Posted by nysportsfan11:

If you can't get along with Deke, there is seriously something wrong with you. On a basketball level, I love how he just shoots more holes into the Isiah groupies "talent evaluator" argument. Deke was done but Jerome James (the Knicks supposed shot blocking, defensive presence) gets 30 million to sing in the ****ing shower.

yea, not only that, but during the same year, didn't deke block almost 10 shots vs the nets in 1 game? he didn't look finished to me, but this was typical isiah when he first got here.. he got rid of Deyse, mutombo, I mean he came in guns blazing.... and didn't bother to think about feelings or even if these guys had something left.. LOL.. wow.. how the tide has turned..

He was not finished here- he may not have been the kind of guy to play 25-30 mpg anymore but he was still a deterrent on defense and could always be counted on to box out. Nazr was an ok player, but he had poor awareness and I can't even count how many times a player would cut behind him for an easy basket.

In some ways, Deke was finished for us - we should have gone into full blown rebuilding mode- but didn't.

He sure could have helped us as we've struggled to get into the 30 win column since he left.

But like Isiah said - shot blocking is over rated.

Umm, i know its fashionable to bash Isiah... but what about Paxson for letting Deke go?

cool tribute at halftime.

Mutombo for GM!

Just shows how pathetic a human being Thomas is. I remember the Shandon Anderson being a cancer, Chaney's firing and what Mutombo said about him throwing up flags for me. But I was so desparate for a winner I ignored them. Oh well.