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Behind the Stripes

Dikembe Mutombo

By Atlanta United FC

December 5^th, 2019

Before he was “Mt. Mutombo,” he was just Dikembe, a lanky kid growing up in DR Congo. And before he was one of the best defenders in the history of the NBA, he had a different love: soccer.

“I played more than a lot,” he says with his signature impossibly deep, gravelly laugh. “It was a huge part of my life.”

Growing up in Africa, he didn’t even play basketball until he was a sophomore in college and a stunning 7’2”. For he and his friends, it was all about soccer, and he says he was the best goalkeeper in his neighborhood, and played at the high school level. In fact he credits his time as a goalkeeper with helping develop his reflexes to become a defensive great in the NBA.

“Soccer was the only sport that I knew my whole childhood, before I embraced the game of basketball when I was 19 years old. It was the only sport I knew. You played at school, you played at home, you played on the street. In the morning, at night, until your mom called you home for dinner. Just as much as I could.”

Mutombo of course shifted to the hardwood, where he would set an NBA record with four Defensive Player of the Year Awards and eight All-Star Appearances. But his love for soccer remained, and once his career came to a close and his schedule cleared up, he was able to go back to his original love.

“I still follow soccer a lot, I go to a lot of matches. I’ve taken my family to World Cup games, matches in Europe every year, and now a bunch of Atlanta United matches. I still live about 15 minutes away from the stadium, so we come here now.”

Dikembe has followed Atlanta United’s growth from the very beginning, since it was just “MLS Atlanta.” He was there when Commissioner Don Garber and Arthur Blank shook hands in front of an Atlanta crowd and announced the team was coming to the city. He knew the excitement was there, but his first matchday still left him stunned.

“I’d seen the excitement the day that Atlanta received the news they were going to get the team,” he says. “But the atmosphere in the stadium was just amazing. I’ve been to so many matches in different countries, but I’d never seen a whole crowd stand on their feet all night long cheering for this wonderful team that we have. It’s just crazy.”

Mutombo calls Atlanta home now, so even though he’s an Atlanta Hawks legend with his number hanging in the rafters, he has grown to love the other teams in the city as well. But Atlanta United, he says, brought something the city didn’t have –– and something the city was craving.

“I remember it was like the first week after the team had been announced that they already had like 20,000 season tickets sold,” he says. “It was just crazy right away. I think the team brought the joy and the passion that so many people have for this sport. Atlanta United just brought a different crowd, and the volume of the crowd is just something that can’t be matched.”

So keep an eye out for Dikembe in the crowd among the 17s – you can’t miss him and his signature finger-wag, which he always delivers with a smile. He says that he, just like the rest of Atlanta United’s unprecedented support, isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

“They have a great group of young talent, players who love the fans. You can see every time Josef Martinez scores he turns straight to the fans and takes in their excitement and emotion. That’s the key, staying connected to the fans, and they’re doing a great job of that.”

And with one more booming laugh, Dikembe makes his way to the Golden Spike for his very first time. And with one wag of his finger, the crowd goes wild.

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