Dikembe Mutombo made a career out of blocking shots, but the legendary big man also developed a reputation for busting up opponents’ faces.
Mutombo was not afraid to use his elbows to gain better positioning in the paint, which led to several broken noses. In fact, Mutombo believes he broke 22 noses over the course of his 19-year NBA career, including Tracy McGrady’s.
T-Mac probably wasn’t too thrilled about Mutombo’s antics, but the former center believes his over-aggressiveness helped get McGrady into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
“And too bad I broke his (McGrady) nose too,” Mutombo said, as transcribed by For The Win. “So people talk about the 22 noses. He was the last victim. I apologize. So if I didn’t break his nose, he wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame. He showed people how tough he is and he came back.”
And judging from this picture, it looks like there are no hard feelings between the two stars.
McGrady and Mutombo were teammates with the Houston Rockets, and now they’re teammates in the Hall of Fame.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
