Dikembe Mutombo Quotes & Sayings

“God put us here to prepare this place for the next generation. That's our job. Raising children and helping the community, that's preparing for the next generation.”

“There are people out there dying every day, so when you wake up, you just have to thank the Man Upstairs for another day on this planet. There's not much else we can ask for.”

“I don't think God said we should all be soft. My job is to compete, and the best prevails. I will continue to play, and that's the way I'm succeeding in my life. If I hit you by mistake, all I can say is 'I'm sorry,' and I keep moving on.”

“I'm so glad I didn't become a doctor, because I do more than any doctor can do. I am an administrator, a CEO, doctor, psychiatrist, an activist, a campaign funder. I think I did well.”

“I come from a large family, but I was not raised with a fortune. Something more was left me, and that was family values.”

“Every day, the sun comes out and the sky's always blue. That's what I miss about Denver.”

“I was not very strong growing up, and my uncle used to look at me, like, 'This kid is not growing up, he is growing tall but he can be broken like a banana.' The banana in Congo is called 'Dikembe.' So my uncle start calling me, 'Dikembe, Dikembe, look at you Dikembe, you cannot even stand up.' It took a long time for me to walk.”

“At the end of my journey, I see myself as a Rocket. That's where I ended my career, and also the organization that did so much for me. They knew I had a vision, and I went to work for the owner, who's a man who believes in philanthropy and believed in me as a player.”

“After spending more than 17 years playing for the NBA, in the summertime, I always came back to community service and different basketball clinics.”

“People wonder why I love Africa so much. I say this is where I was born and raised. My roots are in Africa; that's were I developed.”