Dikembe Mutombo: ‘There’s no place in Asia where an NBA player can’t come from’
Dikembe Mutombo was one of the defensive stars of the National Basketball Association (NBA) when he suited up for Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, and Houston in a career that spanned 18 years!
He is now part of the Jr. NBA Asia Advisory Council, in line with the league’s expanded efforts to encourage basketball participation and promote an active lifestyle among children. The Jr. NBA Asia Advisory Council consists of prominent business and community leaders as well as basketball stakeholders from Asia. The Filipinos among this elite group are SM Prime Philippines president Hans Sy, Phoenix Petroleum president and CEO Dennis A. Uy, and Alaska Milk Corporation president and CEO Wilfred Steven Uytengsu. NBA Asia managing director Scott Levy will serve as the Advisory Council’s chairman.
THE PHILIPPINE STAR: When do you think will we see another player like Yao Ming in the league again and do you think the Advisory Council can help facilitate and advance this?
DIKEMBE MUTOMBO: I think there is a great chance that in the next couple of years, we will see more players coming to the NBA from Asia. I think right now, there are players who can come to the NBA from Asia, but it’s all about their own will and desire. When we look at a place like China where my good friend Yao Ming is from, I think there are a lot of young players who are playing in the CBA right now who can play in the NBA. It is about talking to them and someone encouraging them to go and it’s a matter of taking the challenge. We have players who continue to come from all over and we even have a Filipino player playing with the Lakers. So, there is no place in Asia where an NBA player can’t come from. To me, I would love to travel more in Asia to encourage more players to come to the league. The door is open. Come to the training camp, come test yourself to see if you can make the team.
Do you have a timeline on when we can see you around the region and how excited are you to go around the region and help develop Jr. NBA here?
I think that the program has already developed. We have already more than one million young people who have joined the program so the program is going great. We just have to encourage them more, teach them more, and have coaches be part of this. We have a number that we want to reach, but we are not in a rush. We really want the number to continue to grow in the region. Myself, I’m going to be coming into the region. I’m very excited to be a part of this council. I think I have so much to give to our game of basketball in Asia not just because of who I am, I think it’s also because I love the game and I think that my presence will really contribute so much.
What are your thoughts to keep playing basketball even if you may not reach your goal and make it to the professional ranks?
Basketball is a fun game. One thing that differentiates basketball from any sport in the world is that it can be played anywhere. You can play basketball in your schoolyard, you can play basketball in your driveway, you can play basketball at the park, you can get into the arena. For you to develop, you don’t need a great facility. So many kids who are playing basketball today, they play basketball because they love the game. It’s not just a part of playing the game because they want to become a professional athlete. You can play basketball because you want to stay healthy, you want to stay active, and because you love the game. One thing about talking to all the young people around the world, we want them to play the game because it’s a fun sport. You can play one-on-one with your friend, two-on-two, three-on-three, whatever many people you have around there, you can play the game.
How do you and other former NBA players make the game of basketball more known throughout the world?
As you know, our games are being watched in more than 200 countries globally. So, our duty right now as the NBA is to get to where our game is being watched and to interact with our fans. We know that it will be difficult to reach all the countries around the world but in Asia, I think we are making a lot of progress. We are traveling there a lot, our games are being played there and we have a great group of guys who are traveling in Asia on a consistent basis to make sure that we continue to develop our game. I think the game has grown very fast. I don’t think there’s no place like Asia where the game has grown this fast. You look at places like China, the Philippines — all those places where they’re playing, where more and more people are playing on a consistent basis, where young people know every basketball player by name. Those are the things we are doing now in Africa as well. But in Asia, we just want more participation of young people especially in Southeast Asia where we think that we can introduce the game in almost every corner of the countries. With the Jr. NBA, we are going to be able to reach that and that’s why we are reaching out to all of the business leaders to be involved and the government officials.
For someone whose life was changed significantly by sports, can you talk about the significance of programs like the Jr. NBA?
I think the Jr. NBA program will have an immeasurable impact in Asia and the rest of the world because we are not only teaching the game of basketball, we are also teaching how to lead healthy lifestyles. We want to make sure that all kids will have the chance to play the game of basketball because you cannot play basketball if you’re not physically healthy, if you’re not eating right, and if you’re not getting all the nutrition that you need for you to participate in the game of basketball. Those are the things that, with my presence and my lifestyle, will contribute to the success of this program. For me, to come there and tell the young men and young girls — this is what you need to do, this is how you have to live, and you have to do all those things properly for you to stay successful because my success didn’t come as magic. It took time. I contributed a lot. I was focused. I was disciplined. So, all those things and all the lessons I learned, I would love to give that to many young boys and girls that come to the program.
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