Joel Embiid and the 76ers mourn Dikembe Mutombo on “sad day” in Philadelphia

CAMDEN, NJ – Clinical Daryl Morey was reduced to far less than he expected, or perhaps he was momentarily elevated into a moment, when his victory lap was interrupted by the most sobering news.

The 76ers president was waved away by team staff during his media day appearance shortly after it was announced that Dikembe Mutombo had died Monday morning from complications of brain cancer.

When Morey returned, his broad smile was gone, replaced by red eyes, a shaky voice and stunned movements. He couldn’t bring himself to answer the next question about Tyrese Maxey’s emergence, but he did provide a personal reminder of the Hall of Fame center.

“I knew him personally, we were together in Houston for many seasons, which of course was also very important for the Sixers franchise,” said Morey. “Just a great person. When I was a rookie GM in this league, he was someone I went to all the time. We don’t need to talk too much about his performances on the pitch. Just an amazing person, what he has done for Africa off the field.”

It was the 76ers’ acquisition of Mutombo in 2001 after a standout performance in the Eastern Conference’s comeback victory in the All-Star Game that promoted him from Atlanta to Philadelphia that sparked the franchise’s unlikely entry into the NBA. finals in June of this year.

He was the Defensive Player of the Year that season, his fourth such award, and even though that team had only one win against the powerful Los Angeles Lakers, it remains fondly in the memory of Mutombo and of course Allen Iverson and coach Larry Brown. and his fighting mentality – along with two seventh-game triumphs that enabled him to reach the final. Philadelphia hasn’t been to the Finals since.

76ers star Joel Embiid called Mutombo a “role model.”

“It’s a sad day, especially for us Africans,” Embiid said. “Apart from what he achieved on the pitch, I think he was better on the pitch. He’s one of the guys I look up to when it comes to making a difference.”

Mutombo’s influence, which began in the US at Georgetown alongside Alonzo Mourning and under the late coach John Thompson, obviously extended to Embiid all these years later when he finally learned basketball as a teenager.

Embiid’s last few regular seasons have been hall-worthy, but he’s still looking for that Mutombo moment where he clutches the ball and holds it in his hand like he did in Seattle in 1994 when Mutombo beat the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 top-seeded SuperSonics shocked round, the first 1:8 surprise ever.

Embiid had various iterations of teammates after reaching elite status.

“Consistency. That’s really all I ask for,” Embiid said. “If you change guys every year, for two years, I don’t think that gets you anywhere. If you look at some of the winning teams, you realize, that they have been together for quite a while.

“For me it’s all about consistency.”

Embiid was the constant, but he couldn’t get the 76ers over the hump. He erased Bell’s paralysis against the Knicks in the first round, gamely scoring 33 points a night while Maxey ran around anyone defending him. That wasn’t enough, and the doubts about whether the 76ers’ window closed before it opened were a compelling discussion.

On a day full of unexpected sadness, the expectations in Philadelphia are still pretty loud and undeniable. Morey pulled off a coup when Paul George shunned his hometown, the Los Angeles Clippers, and resisted the Golden State Warriors’ overtures to become a perfect fit for the 76ers’ roster this summer.

So even though George represents another change, he plays a style that easily fits into the 76ers’ vision. He’s a malleable two-way winger, a solid 40-plus percent 3-point shooter who works well with the space Embiid creates through sheer presence and the gravity Maxey enforces through his speed.

And for Embiid, George is the most consistent co-star since Jimmy Butler, and despite missing significant time in three of his five seasons in Los Angeles, George is better than Ben Simmons or James Harden.

It also helps that George seems above himself after running the gauntlet in Indiana, Oklahoma City and Los Angeles.

“I always saw myself as one of the best players in the league,” George said. “At first I wanted it to be mine, in a selfish way, to push myself and be great. I wanted everything to fall on my shoulders. When you go through it and you have injuries (in Indiana) and you’re playing against a competitive and balanced superstar team in Miami, you can’t do it alone. You know, you need star power. You need firepower.”

George is 34, the same age Mutombo was when he was rescued from Atlanta to be a big part of the little man in Philly. Mutombo’s age might have prevented Philadelphia from making more runs at the title, but if history is any guide, these 76ers could have enough to have a real shot at a ring.