Dikembe Mutombo: Joel Embiid is ‘like my son’
The kinship of Philadelphia 76ers big men runs rather deep.
Retired NBA great Dikembe Mutombo told Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated on Wednesday that he sees star Sixers center Joel Embiid like a son and prays daily for the 23-year-old and his healing.
Dikembe Mutombo told me he views Joel Embiid "like my son." Mutombo daily tries to "find a place where I can pray for him, may God heal him"
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) August 16, 2017
Mutombo presumably sees a lot of himself in Embiid — both of them were born and raised in Africa before going on to attend college in America and eventually being selected near the top of their respective NBA draft classes.
The eight-time All-Star still keeps an active profile in issues of NBA interest, and hopefully his next step will be teaching Embiid to finger-wag properly.