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Deke says his career is over

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by ItsMyFault, Apr 22, 2009.

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JujuxG Member

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Deke goodbye, we will always love you and remember ur finger waves.
Best of luck, i hope you will remain helping the rockets organization.

This is making me cried.

#161 JujuxG, Apr 22, 2009

blender Member

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Mutombo was poised to have one last great postseason run, one for the ages....

This is so sad. Goodbye Deke.

#162 blender, Apr 22, 2009
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Deke is my hero. We need to offer him a position within the organization.

#163 sammy, Apr 22, 2009
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Deke was better than anyone who ever lived except for maybe Jesus Christ.

#164 Hank McDowell, Apr 22, 2009
s land balla Member

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Before yesterday, was Deke contemplating coming back next season, or did he already announce this was his last year?

#165 s land balla, Apr 22, 2009
professorjay Member

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Hank McDowell said:

Deke was better than anyone who ever lived except for maybe Jesus Christ.
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I know he's great and all, but let's not go overboard.

Jesus is nowhere near the rebounder or blocker that Deke is.

#166 professorjay, Apr 22, 2009
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It is a sad day...
18 years in the nba can be tough on the body.
But he stood strong. Thanks for everything Deke!
We're gonna miss you

#167 tmacjordan123, Apr 22, 2009

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thank you DEKE for the defense and the hart that you brought to the court

#168 thegame_2234, Apr 22, 2009
Problem-Chyld Member

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i'm trying to hold back tears, man i feel so bad for him. I hope the Rockets will get him a ring but its going to be tough without him Sad to see him go down like this, you will truly be missed Deke. I'll keep you in my prayers. One of my favorite players of all time.

#169 Problem-Chyld, Apr 22, 2009
Problem-Chyld Member

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sLaNd B a L L a said:

Before yesterday, was Deke contemplating coming back next season, or did he already announce this was his last year?
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He already announced this was his last year, though i wish he can come back for one more year I dont want to see his career end on an injury maybe if we can get a fully healthy team Rockets can convice him to come back.

#170 Problem-Chyld, Apr 22, 2009
ItsMyFault Member

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From Jason Friedman via Twitter:

tests confirm Mutombo ruptured quadriceps tendon in knee and will undergo surgery on Monday, April 27
Click to expand...

Ah, farewell, Deke!

#171 ItsMyFault, Apr 22, 2009
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rockets need you,Deke,and rockets will win for you !

#172 bayern0906, Apr 22, 2009
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nooooooooooooooooooooo take my leg instead

we love u deke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#173 eveluvsrox, Apr 22, 2009

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Say it isn't so Deke . I was looking forward to watching you play on friday

#174 RocketRedd45, Apr 22, 2009
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Well I posted this in CCR's thread originally, but now that I think about it, its probably more appropriate here.

Just a little write up I did today.

Ode to Dikembe: Today we celebrate a great career — published on April 22nd, 2009

Derek Finley

finalsbound.com

Few players drafted into the National Basketball Association end up having an immediate and lasting impact on the game. Fewer still have an impact on humanity itself. Dikembe Mutombo Mplondo Mukamba Jean Jacques Wamutombo is a man with a big name, a bigger smile and a massive heart. Last night, during the first quarter of Game 2 against the Portland Trailblazers, he went down with an apparent career-ending injury. We wish Deke all the best and a speedy recovery, and we take time to look back on a career than transcended basketball one hundred times over.

Deke was an incredibly gifted basketball player whose shot-blocking and rebounding skills, accompanied by his trademark finger-wag made him a fan favorite and an opponent headache for the 18 seasons he played in the NBA. His career began in Denver, went mainstream in Atlanta and Philly, and ended with a rejuvenated 5 year stint with the Houston Rockets.

Acquired for virtually nothing (No offense to Adrian Griffin, Eric Piatkowski or Mike Wilks), The 4-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year was thought to be well past his prime and would serve more as more of a mentor for young center Yao Ming than an actual contributor to the team. Little did the Rockets know just how much of a great signing it would turn out to become. With a fresh mindset, and past injuries behind him, Dikembe became a reliable backup center for Houston, and brought a tough inside presence when Yao went to the bench. Although they were 2 very different players from 2 very different backgrounds, Deke became a great mentor to Yao as well as a great friend.

At no point during his Rocket career did any of us feel Deke’s presence more than we felt it last February. After Yao Ming shockingly announced he would miss the remainder of the season, hopes for a championship season looked bleak. With the announcement coming on the heels of a current 10 game winning streak, it seemed like the Rockets were once again the unluckiest team in the league, doomed for failure yet again.

But little did we know what that “young” team was capable of. They proved to be up to the task of handling playing without Yao and with youngest-at-heart 41 year old Dikembe Mutombo starting at center. It wasn’t just his wily veteran presence that provided a spark. It was his leadership, his motivation… and his passion. Deke’s can’t-quit attitude embodied the streak. Just as many had written Deke off as a has-been before he came to Houston, the Rockets were written off after Yao was lost for the year. But with Deke patrolling the paint, The Rockets ran their winning streak up to 20… later, Deke proclaimed to no one in particular “The Rockets have won 20 games straight… the critics can kiss my black ass!” The Rockets would win 2 more games to push their mark to 22, capping off an unfathomable streak with a huge win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

It was that kind of charisma that defined his career on the court. Young upstart players who tried to dunk on “Old Man Deke” time and time again would get a lesson in rejection, and the crowd would get a 1 digit reminder about what happens when you bring that weak stuff into the house of Mutombo. That kind of shot-blocking presence made Deke the 2nd most prolific shot-blocker in NBA History; next of course to all-time NBA great, and the greatest Rocket of all time, Hakeem Olajuwon. While two completely different personalities on and off the court, Dream and Deke will both be remembered as reasons 1 and 2 why there are no easy buckets in the NBA.

As I watched him lying on the floor in immense pain last night, I figured this was not going to end well. A few seconds later I was almost certain this was how it would end for “Uncle Deke”. To see this giant of a man who had continued to play in a young man’s league (at an age only God truly knows) crumbled on the floor was honestly devastating. Then I recalled that this is where I first remembered Deke… on the floor. I was a young basketball fan only 9 years old watching my first playoff series.

The young, 8th seeded Denver Nuggets were facing the mighty #1 seed Seattle Supersonics in the first round of the 1993-94 NBA season. It was this year that I had first started following the NBA, and had picked the Houston Rockets as my favorite team. My older brother was a big Sonics fan, so I was watching the game with interest. I can’t tell you anything that happened in the game now, other than maybe a Gary Payton driving layup late to force overtime. What I do remember however, is a young man named Dikembe Mutombo lying on the floor clutching the basketball with a smile on his face that would be replayed for an eternity, symbolizing the first time in NBA history a #1 seed fell to a #8 seed. Little did I understand at the time that this victory would clear the way for Houston to win its first ever NBA title.

That lasting image was just one of the many things Deke will be remembered for. His wag of a finger after blocking a shot was his way of letting his emotions out. A kind, but fiercely competitive man, he was never shy about showing his emotion on the court. Whether he got a big dunk or was called for a questionable foul, Deke was going to let everyone know how he felt about things. His facial expressions on the bench are priceless. His gravel-y voice is all-time locker-room joke fodder. His “who wants to sex Mutombo” line is still the stuff of legends. But Dikembe Mutombo was not put on this Earth to simply play basketball and have a good time, there were bigger plans for him.

His humanitarian efforts stretched far and wide. Always in tune to his country’s needs, he was involved in many charity events, and was recognized by President Bush during the 2007 State of the Union address for his efforts. He donated millions of dollars of his own money into building a hospital near his hometown of Kinshasa, in the People’s Democratic Republic of Congo. In a time where most young men in the league were concerned with buying flashy jewelry and fast cars, Dikembe was putting countless hours of effort into the land he loved dearly.

While we are sad to see Deke’s playing days come to an end, we look back on his career and see just how much of an impact he had on not only our team, but our fans, our country, and our world.

So as the Rockets march into battle Friday Night for Game 3 against Portland, and certainly they will be with a heavy heart… you know they will hear Deke’s deep voice in their ears… prodding them to be their best, to not take any guff from the refs, and to play every game like its your last, just like he did last night. We’ll miss you, #55.

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#175 moestavern19, Apr 22, 2009

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blackistan Member

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That was really sad to see deke go down like that you will be missed deke

#176 blackistan, Apr 22, 2009
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Moes, that's a nice article you wrote. Farewell Dikembe -- a legend forever.

P.S. Why is this thread not 5 stars? Deke was great

#177 tmactoyao, Apr 22, 2009
napalm06 Huge Flopping Fan

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tmactoyao said:

P.S. Why is this thread not 5 stars? Deke was great
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You're damn right! My vote just pushed it to 4.5 which shows 5 stars.

#178 napalm06, Apr 22, 2009

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all the respect to him !

#179 young.k.n, Apr 22, 2009
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youtube of the R2K video

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/87QNvHEeXnc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/87QNvHEeXnc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

so sad to listen to Deke say his career is over.

#180 Egghead, Apr 22, 2009

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