Former US presidents, soccer managers and Olympic athletes paid tribute to Dikembe Mutombo following his death, paying tribute to a man who leaves a legacy to those who follow in his giant footsteps that goes beyond the confines of a basketball court.

Shortly after the 58-year-old’s death from brain cancer was announced on Monday, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Vincent Kompany and Allyson Felix took to social media to praise his kindness and humanitarian work.

Clinton, who was U.S. president from 1993 to 2001, praised Mutombo’s “unwavering commitment to helping people everywhere,” while Bayern Munich coach Kompany described him as a “legend of the Democratic Republic of Congo” who “inspired people and gave them hope has”. entire generation of young Congolese around the world”.

The honors expressed the way National Basketball Association (NBA) legend Mutombo recognized the riches and opportunities of his new home of the United States during his 18-year playing career, while remaining true to his African roots and his times dedicated to helping others.

“Each of us has a calling,” Mutombo said in 2019.

“My concern has always been to improve the living conditions of people around the world.

“I can use my voice, my size and a little of my money to make the world a better place.”

With his 7ft 2in (2.18m) stature and 22ft height, Mutombo certainly stood out and his distinct, gravelly voice made him a man who demanded attention when he spoke.

Mutombo was born in Kinshasa in June 1966 and moved to the United States in 1987 to study medicine at Georgetown University. However, he eventually changed his studies to concentrate on his young basketball career.

Mutombo’s charitable work, described by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as “thoroughly humanitarian,” began during his playing days with the founding of the foundation that bore his name in Atlanta in 1997.

His move to the city last year, when he joined the Atlanta Hawks, proved to be a pivotal moment, according to former Hawks general manager Pete Babcock.

“That first summer we signed him, he bought school buses and shipped them to the Congo and talked about how unstable the country was because of the civil war, especially the medical facilities,” Babcock told the New York Times.

Mutombo paid for the uniforms and expenses for his country’s women’s basketball team during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but the main project he helped finance was a hospital in his home country.

He invested around $15 million (£11.3 million) of his own money in the $29 million (£21.9 million) construction and furnishing of the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, named after his late mother, in 2007 He also invested in an educational institute named after his father Samuel in the town of Mbuji-Mayi.

A hero across Africa

The Hawks were the second of six NBA teams Mutombo represented during his career, which began with the Denver Nuggets. He also played for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets.

After retiring in 2009, he became the NBA’s first global ambassador and former U.S. President Barack Obama said his work in that role “changed the way athletes think about their impact off the court.”

In addition to projects in the DR Congo, Mutombo helped finance a residential home for an orphanage in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“There is no one, no one, that Mutombo has not touched. Nobody,” said a visibly upset Masai Ujiri, the president of the Toronto Raptors, as he paid tribute on Monday.

“As big as he is, his heart was bigger.

“You can’t imagine going to Dikembe Mutombo’s village with him – the hero he is in Kinshasa, the hero he is in Africa.”

Mutombo has also worked at the United Nations Development Program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the international aid organization Care and the Special Olympics, among others.

“We will never really be able to measure the impact Dikembe has had through his physical involvement,” NBA Africa’s Michael Finley told BBC Sport Africa.

“He never talked about a lot of it.

“He was one of those giants in the truest sense of the word who had a heart of gold and gave without expecting anything in return.”

The description of Mutombo as a giant is particularly apt when considering his work promoting Giants of Africa, Ujiri’s basketball outreach program designed to enrich the lives of young people on the continent – just one example of the many philanthropic organizations that which he supported.

This work inspired other NBA stars with African roots to give back to their home countries and the continent.

Luol Deng, who has invested in sports facilities in South Sudan and played a key role in helping the country’s men’s basketball players reach the Olympics this year, praised Mutombo as a “pioneer.”

“You gave your time, your mind and your soul to those who needed it most, making yourself an angel on earth sent by God,” the former Chicago Bulls center added in a tribute on Instagram .

“They wanted me and others to understand that going home was more important than just talking about it.

“They had the vision to show us how we should live our lives.”

Investing in the future of basketball

Mutombo was involved in several sports promotion programs that made him famous, with a particular focus on talent scouting in Africa.

“He liked what a positive impact the game could have on the community,” Silver said.

In an interview in 2021, Mutombo told BBC Sport Africa there was “too much talent” on the continent but building more pitches would produce more players capable of reaching the top.

“I used to take a bus for an hour and a half to get to a practice facility,” Mutombo explained.

“Now we are talking about inbound investments. People are setting up practice facilities in different parts of the city.

“Africa is a continent full of secrets, full of treasures, and I think all these treasures will be found.”

According to Finley, Africa’s current NBA players consider Mutombo their “godfather.”

Despite all of the Congolese’s successes on and off the pitch, he agrees with the many honors that highlight Mutombo’s compassion above all else.

“He was one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet,” Finley said. “He had a big heart.”