At 7 feet 2 inches, Mutombo held down the paint as one of the league’s best-ever defenders and shot blockers. As an Adidas athlete, he served as a rare exception to the rule that big men can’t sell shoes with his namesake model still counting among the most eccentric signature models in the history of the sport.

Even if you weren't a fan of basketball while Mutombo played, you might recognize him from his various endorsements, which led to a few memorable commercials that became part of t

No one in the game was bigger, or better, at getting people to think about others beyond themselves than Dikembe Mutombo.