Dikembe Mutombo Humanitarian Award debuts as NBA plans 55 courts across Africa

NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, has announced the creation of the NBA Africa Dikembe Mutombo Humanitarian Award, a new yearly honour that will recognise a person or an organisation that works to advance health, education or economic opportunity across Africa.

The award is named after the late four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, who served as the NBA’s first global ambassador following his retirement from the league in 2009.

Silver, in a press statement, also announced that the NBA through NBA Africa would donate 55 courts to local communities on the continent in honour of Mutombo and his iconic jersey number, beginning in his native Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he first discovered his love for the game. The courts will feature a distinct design inspired by Mutombo and contribute to NBA Africa’s commitment of building 1,000 courts on the continent over the next decade.

This announcement was made at the 10th yearly NBA Africa All-Star Luncheon in San Francisco, California, as part of NBA All-Star 2025. The award will be presented yearly, beginning at next year’s luncheon, with the recipient receiving a financial grant to further their humanitarian efforts and a donation from NBA Africa to a charity of their choice.

He said: “Dikembe devoted his life to helping others and brought joy to so many people across Africa and around the world. This new award and the basketball courts built in his name will honour Dikembe’s extraordinary legacy as a global humanitarian.”

Selected fourth overall in the 1991 NBA Draft, Mutombo spent 18 years in the NBA during which time he was an eight-time NBA All-Star and four-time Defensive Player of the Year, leading the league in