Fulton Commissioners, Hawks to Honor Mutombo

Credit: Vinod Divakaran / Flickr

Staff Report

Former Atlanta Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo will be honored by Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman John H. Eaves, the Fulton County Commissioners and the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club for both his success on the basketball court and his humanitarian work away from the game. Mr. Mutombo will be presented with a proclamation from county leaders at a special reception at the Fulton County Government Center September 1, 2015. The honor comes just prior to Mr. Mutombo’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, September 11th.

“We are proud to celebrate the accomplishments and career of a man who excelled on the court and off,” said Chairman Eaves. “Dikembe Mutombo’s most significant legacy is away from basketball for his humanitarian work for those in need.”

“We are beyond proud to support Fulton County as they honor Dikembe. His excellence extended far beyond the court and he remains the perfect example of how an athlete can use their stature to make a positive difference through philanthropy in not only the community he lives in but the world,” Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club and Philips Arena CEO Steve Koonin said. “We are fortunate to have had him represent the Hawks for several seasons and still make Fulton County his home.”

The event is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at 9 a.m. The celebration of Mr. Mutombo’s work takes place at:

Fulton County Government Center Atrium

141 Pryor Street SW

Atlanta, Georgia 30303

A four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Mutombo played for the Atlanta Hawks from 1996 to 2001, leading the league in rebounding during his final two seasons in Atlanta. Since his career ended in 2009, Dikembe Mutombo is second all-time in blocks and the National Basketball Association’s 19th all-time rebounder. The Georgetown University graduate was selected as a member of the 2015 Basketball Hall of Fame class in April.

During his Hall of Fame career, he began devoting his time off the court to humanitarian pursuits through the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation and was a two-time recipient of the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. After retiring from basketball in 2009, Mutombo was appointed that same year as the NBA’s first Global Ambassador. A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, his charitable efforts resulted in the establishment and construction of the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in his hometown of Kinshasa. Mr. Mutombo is a 2014 graduate of Leadership Atlanta and he serves on the board of the CDC Foundation. He has devoted time and effort on behalf of numerous other causes worldwide including work for Hosea Feed the Hungry & Homeless, UNICEF, the National Constitution Center, and the Special Olympics, sponsoring a team from his homeland at that organization’s most recent world games.

“Dikembe has spent a lifetime parlaying his fame into efforts to make the lives of so many other people better,” says Fulton County Commission Chairman John H. Eaves. “That is why, here in his adopted hometown, we want to honor all that he has achieved in a remarkable life.”