Jaelan Phillips made sure to shout out the late Mount Mutombo during Thursday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.
The Miami Dolphins linebacker Phillips had a great sequence during the second quarter where he waltzed in unblocked and swatted down a pass attempt from Tennessee quarterback Mason Rudolph. After sending the football into the turf, Phillips celebrated his basketball-like block with an extremely fitting celebration. He did an emphatic finger wag, the move popularized by NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo.
Jaelan Phillips pays homage to the late Dikembe Mutombo with the finger wag after swatting
Mason Rudolph's pass pic.twitter.com/0J1Qq8l6wF— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 1, 2024
The sad news broke earlier in the day on Monday that Mutombo had died at the age of 58 after a battle with brain cancer. Thus, he was on the minds of many in the sports world, including the former first-round pick Phillips.
Mutombo was one of the greatest defensive centers and shot blockers ever and would often bust out the iconic finger wag after denying an opponent at the rim. Many different NBA players have imitated the Mutombo finger wag over the years, and now his celebration has extended to the NFL world too.
