An Assist from the Big Man

Houston Rocket Dikembe Mutombo probably won’t make the Basketball Hall of Fame. But at the rate the shot-blocking machine is going, he’s well on his way to a Nobel Prize. Mutombo says he’s already spent over $15 million of his own money to construct the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Rockets ($500,000), the Sacramento Kings ($250,000), NBA player’s union ($500,000), Juwan Howard ($100,000) and others have helped out with mounting costs. Deek says the 300-bed, state-of-the-art facility in Kinshasa is still about $7 million shy of what’s necessary for day-to-day operating expenses. Go to www.dmf.org to make donations.