When Dikembe's shoe size astonished the Mumbai Temple guard

MUMBAI: When TOI went to meet Dikembe Mutombo in a five star hotel, he was sitting on a chair and he appeared smaller than the 7'3' frame that he was. Then he stood up and appeared like a skyscraper. He was so tall that he had to sway his head side to side to avoid hitting the fire sprouts from the ceiling.

Dikembe Mutombo, an NBA Legend who played for many teams, died on Monday due to cancer. He was 58.

More than a decade ago, Dikembe was in Mumbai to promote the game and that's when we were presented an opportunity to meet the man who talks with a rasp that will make Louis Armstrong sound shrill. We were more than happy to grab it.

His name was as long as he was tall: Dikembe Mutombo Mplondo Mukamba Jean Jacques Wamutombo. Asked why he has such a long name, he said his relatives kept adding words to his name when he was young.

At one point during the conversation, he stretched his leg and it touched this correspondent. And he sat across a big size table.

He was towering in more than many ways. Known for his famous finger wag, he told us the story of how the great Michael Jordan humbled him. "Before an All Star game, I told Michael that he can't hit a free-throw with his eyes closed. And Michael being Michael, he did that during a regular season game. He called me out before the free throws, 'Hey Deke, this is for you', he said and close his eyes and hit a free-throw."

Dikembe also shared a funny story of his time in Mumbai, his visit to Siddhivinayaka temple. "I was sitting in the car and it moved in inches amidst the traffic and I told the driver that I can walk the remaining distance. When I reached the temple, the guard asked me to remove my footwear as it was the tradition. I handed over my sneakers to the guard and saw the deity and when I came back, the guard still had my shoes in his hands. He was looking at the shoes with astonishment. He had never seen shoes my size in his life," Dikembe had revealed.


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