ATLANTA — Lisa Opoku knew she needed to be here, to speak from the heart and celebrate a man she considered larger than life.
She met Dikembe Mutombo at a restaurant in New York and soon began working with him on projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, his native country.
“He was tireless, who was someone who would do anything for his charities and his causes,” Opoku told Channel 2’s Bryan Mims.
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Now living in Philadelphia, Opoku joined hundreds of others inside McCamish Pavilion at Georgia Tech to look back on Mutombo’s greatness as an athlete and philanthropist.
Opoku was one of several speakers, including ambassador and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, who shared stories about how the basketball legend touched their lives and made the world a better place.
“It was the small things, the way he made everyone feel,” Opoku said. “That’s what I want to convey: Dikembe was not just larger than life to presidents and famous people but he was just a very kind, gentle human being.”
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Mutombo died in September from brain cancer at the age of 58. The NBA star and Hall of Famer dazzled on the basketball court with his defensive skill, playing for a time with the Atlanta Hawks.
But it was his prolific goodwill pursuits that built his greatness off the court, endearing him to people around the world.
He founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation with the mission to improve health, education and quality of life in his native country, where he built a hospital and schools.
Mutombo also volunteered extensively around metro Atlanta, serving on several boards.
“And I think there are very few people today who live their life with such an absolutely flawless philanthropic way,” Opoku said.
Patrick Desamours knew he also had to take part in this celebration. He met Mutombo through the 100 Black Men of America organization.
“The one thing that really always enamored me about Dikembe is just how much he gave,” Desamours said. “It’s one thing for us to have wealth and abundance, it’s another thing to use that wealth and abundance to do good.”
He said it’s critical for the community to come together to remember the good he did – and vow to keep that humanitarian legacy alive.
“Individuals like that who give so much of their lives, we have to continue the legacy of repeating as well as continuing everything he stood for,” Desamours said.
Opoku called him a man of indefatigable spirit and character, a mentor who motivated her to be generous and do good.
“He kept on searching, searching, searching, working so hard,” she said. “And no matter how much he had, he was always trying to find a way to give back.”
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