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穆托姆博-全世界的财富
假如你能在你一生当中认识像迪肯贝-穆托姆博这样的人，那简直是太幸运了。他是一个有信仰的男人，身上充满慈祥，谦虚而又不失尊严。他知道上帝赐予他一分礼物同时也赐予他责任与机会。他的微笑点燃他到过的每一个房间。他的大笑让其他人也忍不住同乐。的确如此，他那爆炸式的笑声，沙哑的嗓音还有那咧开大嘴的微笑在17年NBA生涯中给队友带来了无数的欢乐。又或者他在会更衣室的路上又蹦又跳，看起来他每天总是在发掘每个人的优点。“有时候他开始讲话，我们完全不知道他在说什么，”拉法-阿尔斯通说道。“无论何时他退役，我都会去叫他回来，就是为听他的声音。即使把篮球抛在一边，他依然是个伟大的家伙，这就是他成功的原因。”周三晚上，火箭队在丰田中心给予穆托姆博伟大的赞扬，全场站立鼓掌，并且他收到了一分礼物，那是火箭老板为他的慈善事业捐赠的50万美子的支票。有时候你真的很走运，就好像四年前火箭从芝加哥公牛队签下穆托姆博时，没人会知道这会为火箭带来什么。完美的配合当时他刚刚过完38岁生日，应该不会有太多的出场时间了，因此火箭队认为他是NBA最佳中锋姚明的最佳替补。人们总是把希望寄托于场上发生的一切，关心他的数据。但是当木桶伯离开时，他在场上的表现反倒是次要的了。“他是我们的榜样，”卢瑟-海德说道。“他就是那些人们想要努力接近的人之一。”木桶伯留下的最后烙印是他要做到与众不同，他做到了，无论是他的慈善基金还是他在场上的表现。他为慈善事业的付出，也使他去年在白宫接受了布什总统的接见，也使昨夜的NBA总裁大卫-斯特恩对他的赞美溢于言表。“他真是一个伟大的人，”斯特恩的评价简洁而又中肯。木桶伯已经成为了他慈善事业的一部分，足迹遍布五大洲。斯特恩依然记得90年时随木桶伯一起到南非的旅程。“起初我只是看他的所做的一切，我也第一次认识了尼尔森-曼德拉，打那以后我就为他的所作所为深深感染。”阿尔斯通和其他队友会记得木桶伯对比赛的热爱，在他看来每一天都是如此美好。球迷会记得木桶伯成为历史第二盖帽好手的那一记大帽和他不停摇手指的动作。斯特恩说木桶伯是每个NBA球员的榜样，这真是说起来容易。大多数的人们都喜欢把慈善事业与镁光灯相提并论，但是木桶伯不是，没有人比他奉献的更多。他从他的29,000,000美元的全部收入中拿出15,000,000美元，用于建造医院和研究中心在刚果，并且引来了一些列的慈善效应。“当我们告诉球员什么是该做的时候，我们说篮球是第一位的，社会责任是第二位的，”斯特恩说“NBA关心的也就是迪肯贝-穆托姆博关心的，因为他为我们诠释了社会责任含义”17个赛季，0次合法犯规(?)当中场休息时，大屏幕放出一段片子，木桶伯的队友们拿他的嗓音开玩笑，而且他还坚定不移的确信自己从没犯规过。“我希望联盟中的每个球员都能和他做队友”特雷西-麦克格雷迪说道。“他能鼓舞人心。”当亚历山大和斯特恩发言以及展示完礼物之后，轮到木桶伯了，他的发言真是简要。“我真的要感谢上帝保佑，”他说。然后他就不停地微笑，就好像上次到白宫那样。“我爱我的家人，我的朋友，我的球迷还有球队老板，”木桶伯说。“你不可能总有像今天这样如此特别的机会。我真的很开心，我太幸运了。”他还说他希望球迷记得他在场上和场下一样的卖力。“我想成为与众不同的人。”他说他的确做到了。原文：If you're really lucky, you get to meet a Dikembe Mutombo maybe once or twice in your life.
He's a man of faith and charity, a man of humility and dignity. He understands that God blessed him with certain gifts and that with those gifts come responsibilities and opportunities.
His smile lights up every room he enters. He laughs a lot and makes others laugh, too.
Indeed, it's that booming laugh and raspy voice and huge smile that have made teammates laugh for all 17 of Mutombo's NBA seasons. Or maybe it's the way he still bounces down the hall on his way to the locker room, how he seems to look for the good in everyone and every day.
"Sometimes he starts talking, and we have no idea what he's saying," Rafer Alston said. "Whenever he retires, I'm going to call him up just to hear that voice again. Forget the basketball part of it. Put that aside. He's just a great person. That's the thing that stands out about him."
The Rockets honored Mutombo on Wednesday night at Toyota Center with words of praise, with standing ovations and with gifts, including a $500,000 check to his foundation from team owner Leslie Alexander.
Sometimes you get really lucky. The Rockets had no idea what they were getting when they acquired Mutombo from the Chicago Bulls four years ago.
Fitting in perfectly
He'd just celebrated his 38th birthday and was no longer capable of playing big minutes. The Rockets figured he'd be the right guy to back up the NBA's best center, Yao Ming.
They got all they hoped for on the court, but when Mutombo is gone, what he did on the court will be secondary to the things he did off it.
"He's a role model," Luther Head said. "He's one of those people you want to be more like."
Mutombo's lasting imprint was that he understood he could make a difference, and he did so with both his money and his time.
His charitable work is why President Bush invited him to the State of the Union address a year ago, and it's why NBA commissioner David Stern lavished him with praise and admiration Wednesday night.
"He's a great man," Stern said simply.
Mutombo has led or been part of charitable efforts on five different continents. Stern remembers accompanying him on a trip to South Africa in the early 1990s.
"I was there at the beginning and watched what he wanted to do," Stern said. "I was there for his first meeting with Nelson Mandela. I've been in love with him ever since."
Alston and others say they'll remember how Mutombo never lost his love of the game, how he never seemed to have a bad day.
Fans will remember him for being the second-greatest shot blocker of all time (behind Hakeem Olajuwon) and for that signature finger wag. They'll remember him for being one of those rare people who gets it in every sense of the word.
It would be easy to say that Mutombo is what Stern would like every NBA player to be. But that's not fair.
Bad behavior gets far too much of the attention while the under-the-radar charity work of dozens goes mostly unnoticed. No one, though, has done more than Mutombo.
He contributed $15 million of the $29 million he raised to build a hospital and research center in the Congo. He's involved in an array of other charitable efforts.
"When we did our mission statement, we said basketball is No. 1 and social responsibility No. 2," Stern said. "NBA Cares could be Dikembe Cares because he sets the standard for social responsibility."
17 seasons, 0 legit fouls
During a video tribute that aired at halftime Wednesday night, Mutombo's teammates poked fun at his voice and his unshakable belief that he has never fouled.
Beyond the laughs, though, was the understanding that this is a remarkable human being and that each and every one of them is lucky to have known him.
"I wish every player in this league had a chance to be his teammate," Tracy McGrady said. "He's inspiring."
After Alexander and Stern had finished speaking, after the gifts had been given and it was time for Mutombo to speak, he did so only briefly.
"I just want to thank God for all His blessings," he said.
Later, he couldn't stop smiling, comparing the evening to the State of the Union address.
"I was very emotional seeing all my family members, my friends, my fans and the owner," Mutombo said."You don't get too many special nights like this. I'm just so happy, and I'm very lucky."
He said he would like fans to remember that he tried to do his best both on the court and off.
"As someone who made a difference," he said.
Consider it done.
