Did Dikembe Mutombo have inside information when he tweeted congratulations to the Philadelphia 76ers on winning the top overall pick nearly three and a half hours prior to the NBA Draft Lottery? That’s what many are wondering.
At 4:36 pm ET, Mutombo tweeted a photo of himself in a 76ers jersey alongside Allen Iverson, who was Philadelphia’s No. 1 overall pick in 1996. His message congratulated the Sixers on winning this year’s top pick too:
Did Dikembe Mutombo spoil the draft lottery? pic.twitter.com/yuVs8ok45j
— Sportando (@Sportando) May 17, 2016
After receiving some heat for the suspicion-arousing tweet, Mutombo tweeted this follow-up:
Sorry, guys.Got excited about the @sixers odds and got ahead of myself.Still keeping my fingers crossed for tonight. pic.twitter.com/u6bFaNTJml
— Dikembe Mutombo (@officialmutombo) May 17, 2016
Of course, when it was revealed nearly four hours later that the Sixers had in fact won the lottery and therefore the top overall pick, Mutombo’s tweet became true.
A PR director for the Sixers responded to an email query from Deadspin and said Mutombo did not have access to special information and that he was just tweeting based on the odds favoring Philly.
Given that Mutombo correctly predicted the 76ers would win the lottery, that makes him quite the soothsayer:
DIKEMBE KNEW pic.twitter.com/JChSqpZjgL
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) May 18, 2016
Dikembe Mutombo right now:https://t.co/e95DBG5EH8
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) May 17, 2016
Does this mean Mutombo is just good at predicting the future? Or was he trying to cover his behind with those tweets? It’s tough to say, but we know what happened the last time he denied something.
