NBA Africa and Quest Water Global, a water solutions firm, announced on Monday a multiyear collaboration to build or renovate 55 full-size and 3-on-3 basketball courts across the Democratic Republic of the Congo by 2030 in honour of the late Dikembe Mutombo. The project supports NBA Africa's wider commitment to build or renovate 1,000 courts across the continent over the next decade, with Quest Water Global serving as the league's Official Infrastructure Development Partner in the DRC.
The collaboration tipped off on Tuesday, September 29 with the unveiling of a new outdoor court at Cercle Onatra in Kinshasa, where Mutombo began his basketball journey with Basketball Club Onatra before relocating to the United States. The court features his iconic No. 55 jersey number at centre court and is set to serve thousands of local youth each year. NBA Africa marked the unveiling with a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA clinic for 80 local coaches. A second court is planned for Mutombo's hometown of Mbuji-Mayi in the coming weeks.
Mutombo, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, served as the NBA's first global ambassador after retiring from the league in 2009. He was an eight-time All-Star, led the NBA in blocked shots three times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015. He also founded the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in Kinshasa, which opened to the public in 2007.
Dikembe believed basketball was a powerful tool for teaching young people discipline, teamwork, resilience, leadership, and service to others.
said Rose Mutombo.
