Mount Mutombo says he learnt defence from a 2 year NBA’er
Dikembe Mutombo built a 19 year career on blocking shots and was so successful at it, that he currently ranks second on the all-time leader board for blocks.
The man nicknamed ‘Mount Mutombo’ – a nickname awarded to the 7-2 centre based on the difficulty of conquering him – has 100 more blocked shots to his name than even the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (3,289 and 3,189 respectively). In fact, only Mutombo’s most difficult adversary, Hakeem Olajuwon, has more.
Mutombo, when explaining what he felt was the key to blocking shots, believes that there is ‘nothing like having human intelligence that can allow you to block shots’. But when he turns the focus onto his own incredible defensive career, he attributes his success to something entirely different…
“I was just lucky,” came the surprise admission from Mutombo. “I think I benefited a lot from (former Georgetown coach) Coach (John) Thompson, who was also a great basketball player himself (and) was lucky to play alongside another great, great, great shot blocker who played this game: Bill Russell.”
Drafted in 1964 by the Boston Celtics, Thompson remained on the Boston books for only two seasons (’64-’66) where he spent his time as back-up to arguably the greatest centre of all-time in Bill Russell, a man whose true impact on a game can never be measured as defensive statistics weren’t recorded in the same way they are now. In fact, look at how many blocks Russell has to his name and the answer will be zero.
Needless to say though, Russell was as good defensively as rival Wilt Chamberlain was offensively and behind the Celtics #6, the franchise was able to win 11 titles before Russell eventually retired as a player in 1969.
Thompson, it would seem, learned a great deal from his time with the five-time MVP, sharing the lessons he was taught with his Georgetown Hoya players.
“When he played with the Celtics, Coach Thompson learned a lot even though he didn’t get in the game so much when he was in the Celtics,” said Mutombo. “But sitting on the bench and just watching what Bill Russell was doing on the court every given night, it allowed him to take a note from that and to pass along to all of his great students that came behind him. So some of us was just lucky.
“We have a Coach, we have the experience, we have all of the notes written in the notebook and he was just able to give us the notebook and have us read.”
Who would have thought that a man who played only 80 NBA games in just a two year NBA career, would help create a player who is now one of the all-time great shot blockers?
