Dikembe Mutombo finger wag will live forever as one of NBA most iconic celebrations

Dikembe Mutombo, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame center and global ambassador for the NBA, died at the age of 58 from brain cancer, the league announced on Monday. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mutombo was not just one of the most accomplished international players in NBA history, but one of the greatest rim protectors the modern game has ever seen.

It was not the blocks, but the famous finger wag celebration with which Mutombo became synonymous that distinguished him during his playing days and continued, and will continue, to identify him to the masses of multiple generations.

Mutombo first broke out the finger wag in 1997 when he denied Clarence Weatherspoon on three straight point-blank shot attempts.

Speaking of Michael Jordan, one of the great pieces of behind-the-scenes footage came at the 1997 All-Star Game, where Mutombo was straight up telling Jordan, one of the most vicious and artistic dunkers imaginable, that he never dunked on him before. Jordan kept coming back at him, and Mutombo just stood his ground and kept denying MJ. It was almost poetically perfect in its symbolism. But of course, Jordan, who doesnt forget a single slight, got his poster on Mutombo shortly thereafter and famously taunted the big man with a finger wag of his own.

Kemps SuperSonics were on the wrong end of Mutombo in one of the most memorable playoff upsets in 1994 when the Nuggets, a No. 8 seed, upset top-seeded Seattle in the first round. Mutombo piled up 31 blocks in five games in that series. He was a generational shot blocker whose impact on lives outside of basketball actually far outweighed his Hall of Fame career. He will be missed by many forever.