Mutombo
HOUSTON – Dikembe Mutombo has gotten over the sadness of the end of his playing career. He’ll take some time before deciding what he wants to do next.
The 42-year-old Mutombo said he was retired from basketball after rupturing a quadriceps tendon in his left knee 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 Center 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 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 next.
Kings fire interim coach
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento Kings have fired interim coach Kenny Natt and his four assistants after the club finished with the NBA’s worst record.
Natt, a longtime assistant for Jerry Sloan and Mike Brown, was promoted after Sacramento fired Reggie Theus early in the season. Natt went 11-47 in charge of the Kings, who finished with a 17-65 record.