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It was October 2022 when I wrote a column about National Basketball Association legend Dikembe Mutombo’s brain tumor diagnosis. Sadly, the NBA global ambassador and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer died Monday at age 58.

Our world, not just the sports world, lost a true giant, not because he stood 7 feet, 2 inches tall, but because he lived an incredible life of service.

You can look up his statistics, but now isn’t a time for numbers. It’s a time to honor Dikembe for all he did in life.

Suffice it to say, he will long be remembered as one of the game’s greatest shot blockers, who led the NBA in blocked shots five consecutive seasons and blocks-per-game three consecutive seasons. More importantly, he will be revered for the positive difference he made in millions of lives.

“Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA. Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.

“There was nobody more qualified than Dikembe to serve as the NBA’s first global ambassador. He was a humanitarian at his core. He loved what the game of basketball could do to make a positive impact on communities, especially in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo and across the continent of Africa.”

Dikembe saw firsthand how the lack of medical care available in his home country affected his fellow citizens. His mother died from a stroke when she could not get to a distant medical facility in time for life saving care. He also observed how a lack of formal education prevented so many children from living their dreams for a better future.

When he made it to the NBA, Dikembe went to work to improve healthcare and education in the Congo. Today, thanks to his gifts of money, time, and talent, the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, named in memory of his mother, stands as one of the most modern medical facilities in Africa.

Likewise, the Samuel Mutombo Institute of Science and Entrepreneurship, named in memory of his school teacher father, educates nearly 500 young students annually. He also helped children in need in Washington, D.C., and more.

There is a well-known poem, “The Dash,” and a 2024 version, “The Dash Between,” by Linda Ellis that focus on what people do during their lives on earth — represented by the dash that appears between the dates of their birth and their death — for Dikembe, 1966-2024. The poem emphasizes the importance of making the most of every day, and Dikembe Mutombo certainly did that and more.

“I had the privilege of traveling the world with Dikembe and seeing first-hand how his generosity and compassion uplifted people,” Silver said. “He was always accessible at NBA events over the years – with his infectious smile, deep booming voice, and signature finger wag that endeared him to basketball fans of every generation. Dikembe’s indomitable spirit continues on in those who he helped and inspired throughout his extraordinary life.”

Mutombo was much like the late, great Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates who excelled on the baseball field and also in his significant efforts to help people. Clemente, too, is a member of his sport’s hall of fame and is recognized as one of the greatest players in history.

He died on New Year’s Eve in 1972 when the airplane he was in, full of supplies to help earthquake victims in Nicaragua, crashed into the sea.

Major League Baseball honors Clemente with its annual Roberto Clemente Day on Sept. 15 and its Roberto Clemente Award, presented each year to the player who “best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”

Voting has ended for this year, and the 2024 award winner will be announced during baseball’s postseason games.

The NBA currently awards an annual Social Justice Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy to recognize a player’s dedication to social justice and upholding the league’s and Abdul-Jabbar’s longstanding values regarding equality, respect and inclusion. The 2023-24 winner was Karl Anthony Towns, who was recently traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the New York Knicks.

Social justice is an important and worthy endeavor, and I congratulate the NBA for its efforts to promote it. But how about the NBA adds another award to a player who best exemplifies a deep commitment to humanitarianism similar to how Mutombo improved health, education, and well-being for people in need?

Like the awards named for Clemente and Abdul-Jabbar, this one can be named the Dikembe Mutombo Humanitarian Trophy.

That is something for Silver and the NBA to think about and act upon soon, as another basketball season is beginning. Honoring Dikembe and the award winners in this way will help inspire others to do what they can to make things better for other people.

“I am one of the many people whose lives were touched by Dikembe’s big heart and I will miss him dearly,” Silver said. “On behalf of the entire NBA family, I send my deepest condolences to Dikembe’s wife, Rose, and their children; his many friends, and the global basketball community which he truly loved and which loved him back.”

“I choose to make a difference. I choose to make a change. I choose to save lives,” Mutombo said in a Dikembe Mutombo Foundation video. “I want to see how many more lives I can save … how many more lives can I change by giving somebody else an opportunity to succeed. We have a moral duty to be responsible for what is happening around us.”

Let’s honor Dikembe by doing the same.

(David Jolley is a sports fan and historian, former player, coach and manager, a public relations and marketing communications consultant, writer, and author.)