Uncle Mutombo: I Am the Leader of The Houston Rockets

I love Deke but I'm not so sure about retiring his number he's been a big contributor to the Rox but so has Shane Battier but I don't think anyone is thinking about retiring his number. Drexler deserved his jersey retire because even though he was a Rocket for a few years he was a Houston legend with Phi Slamma Jamma.

Deke deserves to have his number retired but I think that honor should be in Denver rather than here.

 

Agreed. He has never even been a starter here. Guys like Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mario Elie, Kenny Smith and Mad Max didn't have their jerseys retired here. I believe all of those guys were on both of our title teams. Most of them were with the Rockets as long or longer than Mutumbo. And I believe only Sam Cassell never started for the Rockets.

Ralph Sampson led the Rockets to the Finals and had what? 4 All-Star caliber years with the Rockets before his injuries? His jersey isn't retired.

And I'm sure there are other examples. Rick Barry retired a Rocket. Didn't Elvin Hayes retire a Rocket too?

I'm just saying, yeah, we all love Mutumbo, but you get your jersey retired for being great on the court - not off of it. If being great off the court was enough, let's start planning on Battier having his jersey retired too. And for that matter, Matt Bullard! Deke should definitely have his number retired in Denver, but I don't think it should be retired by the Rockets. However, if for some reason Denver doesn't retire his jersey, then I suppose I'd support the Rockets picking up the slack and bestowing that honor on Mutumbo themselves. I definitely think Mutumbo should have his jersey retired, I just don't think Houston should be the place unless Denver doesn't do it.

 

"He isnt like having a big brother on the team, he's like having a Dad"-Bill Worrell

 

it's a combo that no one has. Hall of Fame career, great on the court performance in the past, great leadership here, moved into 2nd all time behind Hakeem while he was here, great off the court everywhere and here

And don't give me crap about Drexler getting it because of UH. If you're gonna argue that it's "on the court performance", it shouldn't count other levels of play if you're retiring it in an NBA arena. Should we retire Rashard's jersey if he plays 3 seasons here?

Drexler got it because he had a great career, had a few good years here, but most importantly, was one of the all-time greats and he played as a Rocket...and he was well-liked, well-respected. The championship certainly was large too, but I bet he'd have been retired even if we lost in the Finals..

 

I am excited to see Houston retire Deke's #55 jersey. He has meant a lot to the team, but more importantly the league and people around the world.

 

Sure, retire his jersey, but he's got another year to go...

 

What would Deke and Yao do for 4 hours ? Just Curious !

 

Play WOW?

 

i love deke. hes a good person and i would be proud as a rockets fan to have his jersey retired here.

 

Yep... Yao is a big WOW fan!

 

Mutombo is a great man. I hope they can win him a championship. I think it's good Karma having Mutombo on the team.

 

He is a good guy. I am proud he is on our team.

 

Does anyone have a clip of that?

 

Even if it's retired in Denver we should retire it here also no matter what!The dude has had a impact on and off he court the whole time he has been here and will go into the hall of fame first ballot imo.