Mutombo Educates the Youth of the NBA

Yao Ming rested his sore foot Friday, requiring the Rockets to rely on Dikembe Mutombo for starter's duty. Mutombo is 42 years old, a fossil in NBA terms. Most of the Golden State roster is young, with Anthony Randolph the baby face of the crew at 19 years old. The kids came at Mutombo, but Deke earned some wags with four blocks on the night. After the game, Mutombo implored young Tony to get educated, as the San Francisco Chronicle's Janny Hu reports.

"We need NBA Classics to show more of the Mutombo games so some of the youngest guys can learn. Everybody is trying me. I don't know why. That young boy tried so hard. ... He kept telling me, 'I'm going to get you before the day's over.' It's too bad. He tried, but he didn't get a chance to dunk on Dikembe Mutombo. He's not going to be able tell his grandkids, 'I got Dikembe with one.'"

This falls somewhere between shoulder-dusting champion and old man playing chess. Mutombo clearly still gets a kick out of rejecting shots. But he's also doting towards the youngsters of the game, hoping they'll learn how to play as he, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon did. For better or worse, Deke's going to be disappointed in a dozen years when he flips on a game to see Randolph running the point for some future juggernaut.

H/T: GSoM.

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