His defensive prowess aside, however, it is his considerable presence in the realm of charity and goodwill that may best define Mutombo's legacy when his playing days are done.

Take for instance Mutombo's latest endeavor. Mutombo, four other NBA players and Sixers assistant coach Alex English will be in Johannesburg, South Africa from Sept. 2-7 serving as coaches for the Africa 100 Camp, a camp for the top 100 young players from more than 19 African countries.

Dikembe Mutombo is a giant when it comes to community service. Here, he helps open a reading center in June 2003. Nathaniel S. Butler NBAE/Getty Images

For Mutombo, making sure that others get the same chances he received is a 24-7 enterprise.

"It's very important to me," Mutombo said. "To be able to help so many people and by giving back to them today. Because as a role model, my hope is that my motivation and my performance and education will inspire them in society, not just as a basketball player."

The Africa 100 Camp is the first of its kind to combine basketball instruction and educational programs addressing important social issues. Mutombo believes that the NBA's presence will be inspiring to the young athletes.

"I will just try to tell them anybody can make the NBA," Mutombo said. "I want them to know that they can make it to another level if you want to push yourself to the level you want to go.

"To give people the chance to study on how to follow in the footsteps, to see how players in the NBA get where they are today, I think the message is a very important one."

With players such as Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon, the NBA's popularity is rapidly increasing in Africa.

"The NBA is becoming a global game," Mutombo said. "In the past, soccer would be most popular, but today, in any country, young kids will recognize, in two seconds, 10 NBA players. The league should be proud of that success."

Mutombo will also be proud to impart the importance of education to the 100 players attending camp. On a continent where more than 25 million people are infected with the HIV/AIDS virus and where the United Nations estimates that AIDS will kill more than one third of young adults in some parts of Africa, Mutombo knows that education is the most important issue facing the players.

"The mortality rate is so bad, in the Zimbawe and South Africa area, 50 percent of the population will not see the age of 25," Mutombo said. "I just pray our participation maybe is the beginning of the road to recovery."

Kim Bohuny, the NBA's vice president for international basketball operations, told The New York Times that the NBA's participation in the Africa 100 Camp could influence many more.

"The saying goes that in Africa, 'If you save one player, you save a thousand,' because he gives back so much," Bohuny said. "Every one of the NBA players does a great deal in their homeland.

"They run summer leagues out of their own money, they run camps, they donate thousands of dollars' worth of products back home. They're working with the federations to professionalize the sport. So that, for Africa, is the really important next step."

And for Mutombo, to have the people and friends from the game he loves returning to Africa to help educate young, talented people, the feeling is beyond words.

"I am so excited to see the NBA go back to Africa again," Mutombo said. "All I can say is that it brings tears to my eyes to see this moving forward."