Sports
Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga enters a pivotal season with Dikembe Mutombo in mind
LAIE, Hawaii – Per week ago, Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga was driving to work optimistic about a potential breakout NBA All-Star season. But because the DRC native approached the Chase Center, his joy turned to sadness when he learned that his legendary compatriot Dikembe Mutombo had died.
“I was driving to the arena with a friend on media day, listening to music and driving to ‘The City’ (San Francisco),” Kuminga said Oct. 4 during Warriors practice at BYU-Hawaii. “He opened his Instagram and the primary photo that appeared was of Mutombo’s death. And then I turned off the music. We just stayed silent and didn’t consult with one another for a while.
“I began considering, ‘Why? What’s up? What’s occurring? It was bad news to listen to it so early. Overall bad news. It was very sad. I knew he was sick. A number of months ago I texted him to ascertain on him. I knew he was sick, but I didn’t know he was very, very sick.
Mutombo died on September 30 on the age of 58 from brain cancer. The Basketball Hall of Famer ranks second in NBA history in blocks behind fellow African Hakeem Olajuwon. The eight-time NBA All-Star was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year 4 times and had his No. 55 jersey retired by the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks.
Mutombo could also be remembered much more as a humanitarian. The NBA’s first global ambassador opened a much-needed hospital and faculty in his hometown of Kinshasa. Mutombo also played perhaps the most important role in persuading the NBA to start out the African Basketball League and was a regular at BAL events.
“I knew about Mutombo before I knew about the most popular NBA players like Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and all the other greats. My dad always talked about him and played against him growing up,” said Kuminga, whose hometown of Goma is about a three-hour flight from Kinshasa. “(Mutombo) built a big hospital to assist the numerous individuals who were in search of him. There was no hospital in Congo that performed many tests, akin to MRIs. The hospital was also built in his mother’s name. It was great that he did it.
“Many of my people from my hometown went to India and South Africa to get medical attention. They don’t even have to go that far anymore. They just need to go to Mutombo Hospital. He also meant a lot to the student-athletes (from Congo). It means everything.”
Starting at small forward, Kuminga scored seven points on 3-of-8 shooting from the sector, 7 assists and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes in the Warriors’ 91-90 opener victory over the LA Clippers on the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawaii on October 5. Kuminga said Mutombo was his mentor, with whom he normally spoke via text message, and added that the last time he saw Mutombo was two years ago, when the Warriors were playing preseason games in Japan.
“The last time I saw Mutombo he said, ‘Just keep doing it, keep working. You will have a great future. Always remember where you come from,” Kuminga said.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has produced several NBA players akin to Mutombo, Kuminga, Bismack Biyombo, DJ Mbenga, Christian Eyenga, Emmanuel Mudiay and Oscar Tshiebwe. Not only does Mutombo have probably the most noteworthy basketball resume, but he was also the one player to seem in the NBA All-Star Game.
Over the previous three seasons, Kuminga had shown flashes of NBA All-Star talent. The 6-foot-10, 225-pound athlete posted profession averages of 16.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in 26.4 minutes last season. With guard Klay Thompson heading to the Dallas Mavericks this summer as a part of a signing, Kuminga is predicted to play a much larger role offensively alongside Warriors star Stephen Curry. 2025 NBA All-Star Game scheduled for San Francisco Kuminga has additional motivation and a person goal of appearing in the All-Star Game for the primary time this season.
“This is my trajectory. That’s what I’ve been working on,” Kuminga said. “I did as much as I could, practicing, getting my body ready, learning the sport and dealing on things defensively. It’s just a matter of once we start playing now and I can show what I’ve been working on and the way my game has developed.
“We have a different team. I’m unsure what’s going to occur. But whatever happens, my mind is prepared for anything.
Asked about expectations for Kuminga, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said: “He needs to maintain improving because he’s on the correct track. Everyone is doing higher. The three-point shot is a big deal, especially in today’s NBA. If he can catch and shoot consistently, it can open things up for each him and others.
“Defensively, I just keep getting better and we use that athleticism, that strength, in a way that really impacts our opponents. These are the things we focus on.”
Kuminga, who turned 22 on Sunday, also hopes to increase his contract with the Warriors. The Warriors and Kuminga have expressed mutual interest in wanting to agree on an extension before the Oct. 21 rookie extension deadline. Kuminga is making $7.6 million in the ultimate 12 months of his contract and can be a restricted free agent in 2025 if a contract extension is just not agreed upon by the deadline.
“My agent is handling it. I need to focus on what I’m trying to achieve. The more I achieve, the more these things take care of themselves,” Kuminga said.
After Mutombo’s departure, there are several African basketball stars in the NBA, and there are potential stars on the horizon.
There were 19 African-born players in the NBA last season, including Kuminga, 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid and Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam. NBA Academy Africa has also paid dividends recently, as Duke signed center Khaman Maluach, the Toronto Raptors signed big man Ulrich Chomche, and the Utah Jazz signed Babacar Sane to an Exhibit 10 contract.
Kuminga is confident that Mutombo’s legacy will continue to exist amongst current and future African NBA players.
“I’m just trying to be great here and do the best I can,” said Kuminga, who last visited Congo after the Warriors won the 2022 NBA championship. “Mutombo did every thing he could and got here back and it helped. That’s what it’s all about. Do as much as you may, whatever it’s, so long as you give back and show the remainder of us how much it matters.
“I helped. I’m sending some stuff back. Helping people. Giving back the shoes. Helping some kids. When I come back someday, I’m working on organizing a camp and helping some (Congolese) students by providing them with scholarships for school and education.”
Sports
Mike Tyson freaks out when a teenage reporter asks about his heritage: ‘It means absolutely nothing to me’
Mike Tyson was in full “Iron Mike” mode when a 14-year-old reporter did an interview and asked him about his heritage.
Jazlyn Guerra, the young journalist behind , was at Tyson’s weigh-in with Jake Paul on November 14 before their highly anticipated match. She he asked former heavyweight champion, what sort of “legacy” he hoped to leave behind. This query received an ominous response from Tyson, who taught the young teenager a lesson on how meaningless an inheritance is for a deceased person.
“I don’t believe in the word ‘heritage.’ I think it’s another word for ego. Heritage means nothing,” he said. “It was just a word that everybody clung to. Someone said the word and everybody latched onto it, now it’s used every five seconds.
“It means absolutely nothing to me. I’m just passing through,” Tyson added. “I will die and this will be over. Who cares about legacy after that?”
After a transient, awkward pause, the Brownsville, Brooklyn native continued his vicious tirade.
“Then I will die. I want people to think that I’m like this, that I’m great?” – he continued. “No, we are nothing. We’re just dead. We are dust. We are absolutely nothing. Our legacy is nothing.”
Guerra seemed momentarily bowled over by Tyson’s harsh outlook on life, but remained calm and politely thanked the champion for his insights.
“Well, thank you so much for sharing this,” she said. “That’s something I haven’t heard before.”
However, Tyson just isn’t yet done proving his thesis about the irrelevance of heritage.
“Can you actually imagine someone saying, ‘I would like my legacy to seem like this?’ You’re dead!” Tyson said. “Who the hell takes care of me when I’m gone? Maybe my children or grandchildren?
The interview quickly went viral, with many individuals expressing concern for the young Guerra.
“Oh my God, why did Mike say that to that little girl?” one user X he wrote.
“This shit just changed the trajectory of her life,” one user wrote.
“You can see her youth leaving her during this interview,” another person added. “And who thought it was a great idea for a kid to interview Tyson.”
Sports
58-year-old Mike Tyson defeated Jake Paul (27) by unanimous decision
YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul added Mike Tyson’s name to his list of unimpressive victories on November 15 after judges awarded him the victory in what was essentially an exhibition match.
According to , Netflix, which has made significant investments so as to add live sports to its portfolio, has faced backlash on social media for unreliable streaming and technical issues throughout the event’s broadcast.
On the eve of the fight on CNN, former HBO host Bomani Jones called the fight between the 2 men a “farce” and identified that the general public’s demand for the fight is a byproduct of desire. seeing someone knock Paul out.
According to The Associated Press, the fight set a Texas record for combat sports, grossing $18 million in opening revenues.
Apart from the record draw, the group was not pleased with the fight and what they witnessed, and booed because the fight became slower and slower.
The foremost event was uneven and was far more entertaining than the boxing match because Tyson looked his age.
Tyson, 58, managed to land just 97 punches over eight two-minute rounds, while Paul, 27, taunted and cajoled the much older and slower man.
In turn, the co-main event brought the most effective fight of the evening, ending with a controversial decision of the judges.
The 2022 reboot of Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, widely considered the Fight of the Year, was an exciting fight between two top contenders and was largely a disappointment.
Serrano and Taylor went to work on this fight, trading and exchanging combos in flurry of motion.
Although Taylor lost a degree for multiple headbutts and was eliminated after greater than 100 strikes, she ultimately won a unanimous decision that was met with choruses of boos from the group at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Due to the character of the controversial ending, the Taylor-Serrano fight will likely lead to a 3rd fight, nonetheless, Paul will likely proceed to be criticized for hand-picking opponents that he can very clearly beat within the boxing ring, whilst he appears to advocate for a match with Canelo Alvarez, probably boxing’s biggest draw after the Tyson fight.
“Boxing has collapsed long ago as an attraction for mainstream sports viewers, and in the age of social media, viewers seem more excited to watch a YouTuber fight a nearly 60-year-old former heavyweight champion than a real fight between boxers who are relevant to the sport,” wrote Keith Reed, author and sports editor, in an article for MSNBC. “This strikes me as symptomatic of our culture’s rejection of skills, qualifications, and experience as prerequisites for central office – in any profession, from the president of the United States on down.”
Sports
Long-time NBA assistant Phil Handy coaches the Unrivaled team
Longtime NBA assistant coach Phil Handy will develop into the head coach of an as-yet-unnamed team for the first time in the first season of the latest Unrivaled women’s skilled basketball league in 2025, sources tell Andscape.
The 3v3 league will debut in Miami in January 2025, and 36 basketball players will play in six teams. Unrivaled’s co-founders are WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier.
“I’m so excited to be a part of the first season of Unrivaled with some amazing coaches and athletes,” Handy told Andscape on Friday. “Supporting women in sport has been a long-standing passion of mine and I actually appreciate the opportunity to proceed to contribute to their development and success.
“I have always seen basketball as more than gender – it is about the skill, dedication and heart that athletes bring to the game. Exploring this deeper this off-season before the (WNBA) season starts in April feels like a meaningful and exciting way to stay connected to my roots. I love training athletes.”
Handy, 53, won three NBA championships as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. The former University of Hawaii guard was an assistant coach with the Lakers from 2019-2024 . , Raptors from 2018-2019 and Cavaliers from 2013-2018, after serving as player development coach for the Lakers from 2011-2013. The San Leandro, California native is widely known for running improvement camps around the world and training elite players in the offseason, including the late Kobe Bryant, Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving and USC women’s basketball goaltender JuJu Watkins.
The inaugural season of Unrivaled will begin on January 17, 2025. Team assignments, rosters and schedules might be announced on November 20.
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