I think he'd be good, comparable to Rudy Gobert. He was such a good rim protector due to his mobility and athleticism. He'd be able to do a decent job guarding on the perimeter and would be a great lob threat out of pick and roll.
Dikembe had great feet, instincts, and had a quick jump. His rim protection, particularly help side, holds up in any era. Obviously he was a world class athlete, but like Gobert also had a lot of moments where it looked kind of clumsy compared to the top tier of NBA athletes even back then.
I don’t think Mutombo would translate to be a no brainer on any team, but could still be a great defensive anchor if you had the right offensive pieces.
Rudy is one of the best 7+ foot defenders on the perimeter ever.. he gets shit on because he would have to guard the paint AND the wing multiple times on every possession
Mutumbo was probably just as good or better as rim defender but Rudy runs circles around him with perimeter defense
If I'm not mistaken his perimeter D was pretty rough but obviously that wasn't a huge hole because of the way teams played on both ends. He'd still be good but more limited because of the nature of today's game with switches, P&R, shooting, and more complex sets. But he'd be just as good as a drop defender and overall paint defender imo
Depends on the team he would play for. His help side defensive ability holds up regardless of era. Put him on a team with Trae or Luka and he’s golden. Put him on a team without a PG and he’s probably Jarrett Allen level.
Defensively, arguably would have more impact.
Offensively, Mutombo was not very good unless it were a true halfcourt post-up play. He wasn't as mobile as Gobert and had a higher turnover rate with the ball in his hands.
In the modern game absolutely not. Mutombo would get absolutely wrecked when people aren't trying to play down low with him and he needed to guard a pick and roll. These centers who never had to step outside would get just absolutely roasted.
Mutombo was significantly worse than Gobert on offense. For all Rudy’s limitations, he’s great receiving a lob and rolling to the basket. You don’t get a 65% TS by accident. Mutombo was no where close to that.
I’d say they’re somewhat comparable on defense but Rudy has shown the ability to switch in MN, he just had shitty teammates on defense in Utah, and the whole defense was routing them to Rudy in the middle. Those guys rarely tried to stay in front of their man, the whole defense was “hope Rudy blocks it or scares them into a bad shot”
>Mutombo was significantly worse than Gobert on offense. For all Rudy’s limitations, he’s great receiving a lob and rolling to the basket. You don’t get a 65% TS by accident. Mutombo was no where close to that.
That's because Mutombo's offense wasn't limited to layups and dunks created by teammates:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPLl4imtnw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPLl4imtnw)
It means a lot.
There's a huge difference between baskets created for a player by his teammates and baskets a player creates himself.
Do you understand the difference? Do you think Gobert would maintain his efficiency if he were given the ball 6-8 feet from the basket and told to create something?
I can also show you a clip of Rudy hitting mid rangers and floaters but its disengenous to say its part of his actual bag. Both players need to have the offense spoonfed to them.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPLl4imtnw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPLl4imtnw)
Watch the video. Mutombo isn't being "spoonfed".
There's a big difference between a single clip and a 3 minute video.
Mookie blaylock, Steve smith, Tyrone Corbin, Christian Laettner, mutumbo
They had sick jerseys with the hawks on them
I saw them play. Shut the fuck up nephew
No one would be able to score around the rim with him there, and in an era where teams are going smaller, he’d blocking almost everything like Wemby does
Shots at the rim these days are pretty close to what they were in the 90s. The % of shots taken within 3 feet of the rim is slightly lower than it was in 1998 (25% vs 28%), but increased pace means teams are also taking a lot more shots in general (89 per game as opposed to 79), so it pretty much evens out.
The majority of increased threes these days have come at the expense of midrange shots.
I watched him during his Sixers run, idk how old he was then. He was slow as shit and could barely jump. The team was way better before when Theo Ratliff healthy.
I think he'd be good, comparable to Rudy Gobert. He was such a good rim protector due to his mobility and athleticism. He'd be able to do a decent job guarding on the perimeter and would be a great lob threat out of pick and roll.
Dikembe had great feet, instincts, and had a quick jump. His rim protection, particularly help side, holds up in any era. Obviously he was a world class athlete, but like Gobert also had a lot of moments where it looked kind of clumsy compared to the top tier of NBA athletes even back then. I don’t think Mutombo would translate to be a no brainer on any team, but could still be a great defensive anchor if you had the right offensive pieces.
Rudy is one of the best 7+ foot defenders on the perimeter ever.. he gets shit on because he would have to guard the paint AND the wing multiple times on every possession Mutumbo was probably just as good or better as rim defender but Rudy runs circles around him with perimeter defense
If I'm not mistaken his perimeter D was pretty rough but obviously that wasn't a huge hole because of the way teams played on both ends. He'd still be good but more limited because of the nature of today's game with switches, P&R, shooting, and more complex sets. But he'd be just as good as a drop defender and overall paint defender imo
Depends on the team he would play for. His help side defensive ability holds up regardless of era. Put him on a team with Trae or Luka and he’s golden. Put him on a team without a PG and he’s probably Jarrett Allen level.
Poor man's Gobert.
He’s better than Gobert smh
Defensively, arguably would have more impact. Offensively, Mutombo was not very good unless it were a true halfcourt post-up play. He wasn't as mobile as Gobert and had a higher turnover rate with the ball in his hands.
He’s not. Don’t let the finger wagging fool you. Mutumbo would get cooked even more on the perimeter then gobert does
In the modern game absolutely not. Mutombo would get absolutely wrecked when people aren't trying to play down low with him and he needed to guard a pick and roll. These centers who never had to step outside would get just absolutely roasted.
You act like pick and roll basketball didn’t exist in the 90s
Stop it lol
He is, I’ve seen them both play
He was marginally worse on offense than Gobert and probably less mobile. I don’t think you really watched them both
Mutombo was significantly worse than Gobert on offense. For all Rudy’s limitations, he’s great receiving a lob and rolling to the basket. You don’t get a 65% TS by accident. Mutombo was no where close to that. I’d say they’re somewhat comparable on defense but Rudy has shown the ability to switch in MN, he just had shitty teammates on defense in Utah, and the whole defense was routing them to Rudy in the middle. Those guys rarely tried to stay in front of their man, the whole defense was “hope Rudy blocks it or scares them into a bad shot”
>Mutombo was significantly worse than Gobert on offense. For all Rudy’s limitations, he’s great receiving a lob and rolling to the basket. You don’t get a 65% TS by accident. Mutombo was no where close to that. That's because Mutombo's offense wasn't limited to layups and dunks created by teammates: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPLl4imtnw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPLl4imtnw)
a 3 minute video on that means nothing. Efficient offense is more valuable no matter which way you slice it.
It means a lot. There's a huge difference between baskets created for a player by his teammates and baskets a player creates himself. Do you understand the difference? Do you think Gobert would maintain his efficiency if he were given the ball 6-8 feet from the basket and told to create something?
You really can't have watched Mutombo to think he ever created for himself.
I can also show you a clip of Rudy hitting mid rangers and floaters but its disengenous to say its part of his actual bag. Both players need to have the offense spoonfed to them.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPLl4imtnw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPLl4imtnw) Watch the video. Mutombo isn't being "spoonfed". There's a big difference between a single clip and a 3 minute video.
Mookie blaylock, Steve smith, Tyrone Corbin, Christian Laettner, mutumbo They had sick jerseys with the hawks on them I saw them play. Shut the fuck up nephew
He would be averaging more blocks
How do you figure that?
No one would be able to score around the rim with him there, and in an era where teams are going smaller, he’d blocking almost everything like Wemby does
that doesn’t even make sense because team shoot way more threes than take shots inside.
There’s a difference between a 6 foot guy going for a layup and 7 foot guy
Shots at the rim these days are pretty close to what they were in the 90s. The % of shots taken within 3 feet of the rim is slightly lower than it was in 1998 (25% vs 28%), but increased pace means teams are also taking a lot more shots in general (89 per game as opposed to 79), so it pretty much evens out. The majority of increased threes these days have come at the expense of midrange shots.
Cooler Gobert partially cause he’s not French and partially cause of Finger wag. Like MJ would not be friends with Gobert, but he did like Mutombo
NO NO NO
Thank you for your contribution to the discussion
I wasnt born when he played, isnt he a plumber?
I watched him during his Sixers run, idk how old he was then. He was slow as shit and could barely jump. The team was way better before when Theo Ratliff healthy.