10 Career-Defining Dikembe Mutombo Basketball Cards – Instant PC
One of the most dominant interior defenders in NBA history, Dikembe Mutombo spent the better part of two decades swatting shots and wagging his finger on the court and doing some terrific humanitarian work off the court. The 7’2″ center ranks second to Hakeem Olajuwon on the all-time blocks list.
All told, there are more than 2,800 Dikembe Mutombo cards, according to the Beckett database.
So where does one begin putting together a Dikembe Mutombo PC?
The following 10 cards serve as an excellent representation of his playing career and footprint on the hobby, making them a great place to start.
1991 Classic #3 Dikembe Mutombo
Before his NBA career began, Mutombo was a standout at Georgetown where he averaged 15.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game during his senior season while playing alongside junior Alonzo Mourning.
Before his pro career began, he was included in the 1991 Classic set, and his is the most valuable card in the set along with fellow future All-Star Larry Johnson.
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1991-92 Upper Deck #3 Dikembe Mutombo RC
At a time when centers still ruled the NBA, Mutombo was the No. 4 overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft and an instant impact player for the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 16.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game and earned an All-Star selection as a rookie.
He has four different Rookie Cards in the 1991-92 Fleer, Hoops, SkyBox and Upper Deck sets. The most expensive of the bunch carry a modest book value of $3.
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1992-93 Upper Deck #499 Dikembe Mutombo/Chris Jackson
At the onset of his NBA career, Mutombo was the face of the Nuggets roster alongside Chris Jackson—later known as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf—who was chosen with the No. 3 overall pick the year before Mutombo was drafted.
The duo were teammates for five seasons before both departed following the 1995-96 season, and they were featured together on a subset card in the 1992-93 Upper Deck set, and it serves as a nice look back at what looked like a promising young core in the making in Denver.
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1993-94 Finest #164 Dikembe Mutombo
During the 1994 playoffs, Mutombo tallied an absurd 69 blocks in 12 games to help the Nuggets reach Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals. He also led the NBA in blocks (336) and blocks per game (4.1) during the regular season, the first time in his career he paced the league in those categories.
What better way to honor his dominant defensive season than with one of his two inclusions in the inaugural Finest Basketball set?
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1996-97 Upper Deck #182 Dikembe Mutombo
After five seasons in Denver, Mutombo reached free agency and signed a five-year, $55 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks. The center joined a roster that had won 56 games the previous season with Steve Smith, Mookie Blaylock and Christian Laettner leading the way.
His 1996-97 Upper Deck card features a photo from his introductory press conference and serves as the perfect nod to the start of his Atlanta career.
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2000-01 Topps Combos 1 #TC4 Patrick Ewing/Dikembe Mutombo/Alonzo Mourning
Georgetown University churned out three of the best centers of the 1990s, with Patrick Ewing (No. 1 pick in 1985), Dikembe Mutombo (No. 4 pick in 1991) and Alonzo Mourning (No. 2 overall in 1992) all suiting up for the Hoyas.
That trio was featured on an insert card in the 2000-01 Topps Combos set. Along with the base version pictured above, there is also a Chrome and a Refractor version of the card that were included in 2000-01 Topps Chrome Basketball.
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2000-01 Upper Deck Encore #90 Dikembe Mutombo
Midway through the final season of his five-year deal with the Hawks, Mutombo was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that sent Toni Kukoc and others back to Atlanta. He proved to be the missing piece on a roster led by Allen Iverson, and the Sixers reached the NBA Finals where they lost to the Lakers in five games.
The midseason trade meant very few of his 2000-01 cards picture him in a Sixers uniform, but the Upper Deck Encore set managed to sneak him onto the checklist in his new jersey.
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2003-04 Topps Contemporary Collection #125 Dikembe Mutombo
The Sixers re-signed Mutombo to a four-year, $68 million contract following their run to the NBA Finals. However, he spent just one more season in Philadelphia before he was traded to New Jersey in exchange for Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch.
After playing in just 24 games during the 2002-03 season in New Jersey, the Nets bought out the final two years of his contract and he signed a two-year deal with the Knicks in free agency. Mutombo’s time with the Knicks was equally brief, making cards like the one above something of a novelty.
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2004-05 Bazooka #159 Dikembe Mutombo
After playing for three different teams in three years, Mutombo finally found a home with the Houston Rockets where he served as the backup to Yao Ming and settled into a role as a bench player. In five seasons with the Rockers to close out his career, Mutombo averaged 3.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 15.6 minutes per game.
His 2004-05 Bazooka card is one of many from that year’s wide variety of releases that show him in his new Rockets uniform, but the simple design and photo-day style picture is extremely effective.
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2015-16 Donruss Rebounding Kings #8 Dikembe Mutombo
Mutombo retired at the age of 42 after the 2008–09 season. He ranks among the all-time leaders in blocks (3,289, second), blocks per game (2.8, seventh), rebounds (12,359, 20th) and rebounds per game (10.3, 43rd).
On Sept. 11, 2015, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and his Donruss Rebounding Kings insert from that year serves as the bookend to this collection.
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His 1994-95 Flair Rejector insert should have made the list. It’s an awesome looking card depicting what Mutombo does best; swatting shots.