LeBron James remembers a funny story during his competition against Dikembe Mutombo

The NBA world lost an icon on Monday as legendary Hall of Fame center Dikembe Mutombo died at the age of 58 from brain cancer. Mutombo has impacted many people around the world, not only through his play on the field, but also through his philanthropic efforts off it. Many members of the Los Angeles Lakers family offered their condolences following the announcement and current superstar LeBron James also had many kind words.

Of course, James is a true basketball historian and after offering his condolences and best wishes to the Mutombo family, he recalled one of his favorite moments from the center, which remains one of the most iconic images of NBA history.

“First of all, my condolences go out to his family. Any time a loved one passes away, it weighs heavily on the family, so my condolences and best wishes go out to his family,” LeBron said at Lakers media day. “It also goes out to the NBA community. As an important member of the NBA, when you grow up and you think about iconic moments in playoff history, you think about when they played the SuperSonics and they were eighth and you just remember him who got that last rebound, those blocks and just holds that basketball on his back just in amazement.

That photo of Mutombo on the court is always a part of every big playoff moment and he led the Denver Nuggets to become the first eighth seed to beat a top seed in the playoffs. As for LeBron’s personal memories with Mutombo, that was a bit more painful.

“My fondest memory of Dikembe Mutombo, him fracturing my face on my birthday in Cleveland with an elbow,” added the Lakers superstar. “I never even had the chance to talk to him about it. I was in Cleveland, my first stint, I think I was maybe 22 years old. He was in Houston, you can look it up, yes, he was in Houston. And I went to the hole and caught one of those Dikembe elbows. And if anyone knows Dikembe elbows, they don’t feel good. He fractured my face and I went to the hospital that night and wore a mask for a little while. Yes, so that’s my memory of Dikembe.

These elbows were known to be dangerous and James discovered this early on in his career. Nonetheless, Mutombo was a true giant on and off the field and will be greatly missed around the world.

Lakers legends react to the death of NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo

Many other people also paid tribute to Dikembe Mutombo following the announcement of his death.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson called Mutombo “an incredible man with a heart of pure gold,” while Pau Gasol also praised him for his accomplishments on and off the court. Metta World Peace, who was a teammate of Mutombo during his final season with the Houston Rockets, also offered his condolences to his family.

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