Fansided

Every NBA team’s greatest enforcer of all time

By Luke Anton

LOS ANGELES - 1987: Bill Laimbeer #40 of the Detroit Pistons looks on during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles, California in the 1987-1988 NBA season. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - 1987: Bill Laimbeer #40 of the Detroit Pistons looks on during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles, California in the 1987-1988 NBA season. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images) /
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MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images
MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images /

Atlanta Hawks — Dikembe Mutumbo

If the 7-foot-2 Mutombo was prowling the paint, second thoughts were had about taking on Mount Mutombo. If blocking shots was an art, then Dikembe Mutombo was Picasso, averaging an astounding 3.7 blocks per game over the first seven years of his career. These weren’t just regular ole blocks either. No way. Mutombo’s blocks ERASED shots entirely. His signature and iconic move was to block a shot and then wave his massive finger, announcing “NOT UP IN HERE!”

Mutombo’s vast interior presence also led to some memorable wins. There was the huge upset over the Sonics in the 1994 playoffs when he played for the Nuggets, the first time a No. 8 seed ever took down a No. 1 seed. And after being traded from the Hawks to the Sixers during the 2000-01 season, Mutombo was the missing link for a Sixers team that marched all the way to the Finals. But Mutombo is remembered most for being an Atlanta Hawk, where he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in back-to-back years in the late 90s. He finished his career with four of those awards in all and is second all-time in blocks.

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