Sports

Mutombo retires after suffering serious knee injury

Dikembe Mutombo of the Houston Rockets has gotten over the sadness of having to end his playing career, saying he'll take some time before deciding what he wants to do next.

Dikembe Mutombo of the Houston Rockets has gotten over the sadness of having to end his playing career, saying he'll take some time before deciding what he wants to do next.

The 42-year-old Mutombo announced his retirement from basketball Thursday after rupturing a quadriceps tendon in his left knee Tuesday.

The injury happened early in Houston's 107-103 loss to Portland in Game 2 of their playoff series on Tuesday. Game 3 is Friday in Houston.

The 7-foot-2 Mutombo will have surgery on Monday. He limped around the Toyota Centre on a crutch Thursday but stayed upbeat as he chatted with reporters.

"I've been in a positive mode for the last couple of days," Mutombo said. "Maybe I think I cried enough when I was on the floor. I cried again when I got in the training room and when the doctor tried to talk to me.

"But right now, I think I have to be happy."

Mutombo, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, played for six teams, was the league's top defensive player four times and played in eight all-star games over 18 seasons. He ranks 17th in rebounds (12,359) and finished with 3,289 career blocks, second to Hakeem Olajuwon (3,830).

He followed most of his blocks with a playful wag of his right index finger, a gesture that became his enduring signature.

"I had a wonderful, wonderful ride," he said.

Mutombo said he would talk with his wife, Rose, and six children before deciding what he might do now.

He's been active for years in humanitarian efforts, most of them benefiting causes in Africa. He was recognized in former President George W. Bush's 2007 State of the Union address and was invited to attend President Barack Obama's inauguration in January.

Earlier Thursday, the NBA announced that Mutombo was the recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, given for "outstanding service and dedication to the community."

He's the first two-time winner of the award.

"This is a great day," he said. "Despite the bad news for myself and what's going on with my knee, it is a good day to learn I have received another award, just to get another to my great collection.

"I'm just happy. I'm going to be all right."

Mutombo's most personal project is the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, which opened in December 2007 in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mutombo donated $19 million US to the project and set up a foundation to raise money for the hospital, named after his late mother.

He laughed off a question about whether he'd go to work for NBA commissioner David Stern but wouldn't reveal any career paths he might have in mind.

"When the season is over, when everything is over, then I will have the time to reflect on myself and take time with my wife and kids," Mutombo said. "Then we will decide what the next chapter of life will be like.

"But right now, we still have basketball."