The brutal blow that Jonathan Kuminga received when Dikembe Mutombo died: "It was very sad"

Jonathan Kuminga has spoken about how he learned of the death of Dikembe Mutombo. Also a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Golden State Warriors player found out about his idol's death unexpectedly on the way to the Chase Center:

"I was driving to the stadium with my friend on media day, playing music and heading towards 'The City' [San Francisco]. He opened his Instagram and the first photo that appeared was about Mutombo's death. I turned off the music then. We stayed quiet and didn't speak for a while. I started to think, 'Why? What's happening?' It was bad news to hear it so soon. Bad news in general. It was very sad. I knew he was sick. I sent him a message a couple of months ago to see how he was. I knew he was ill, but I didn't know he was very, very ill."

Kuminga mentions that he had met Dikembe before meeting the other NBA stars due to his father: "I knew Mutombo before the more popular NBA players, like Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and all the other greats. My father used to always talk about him, and he played against him when he was young."

And, of course, he highlights his incredible humanitarian work in the Congo: "Mutombo created a large hospital to help many people in need. The Congo did not have the kind of hospital that had many capabilities, like MRIs. The hospital was also built in honor of his mother. It was great for him to do it. Many people from my village used to go to India and South Africa for medical help. Now they no longer need to go that far. They just need to go to Mutombo's hospital. It also meant a lot to the student-athletes of the Congo. It means everything."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El brutal mazazo que se llevó Jonathan Kuminga cuando murió Dikembe Mutombo: "Fue muy triste"