PORTLAND (AP) — Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday from brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58.

His family revealed two years ago that he was undergoing treatment in Atlanta for a brain tumor. The NBA said he died surrounded by his family.

“Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA. Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.”

Mutombo was distinctive in so many ways — the playful finger wag at opponents after blocking their shots, his height, his deep and gravelly voice, his massive smile. Players of this generation were always drawn to him and Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who was born in Cameroon, looked to Mutombo as an inspiration.

“It’s a sad day, especially for us Africans, and really the whole world,” Embiid said Monday. “Other than what he’s accomplished on the basketball court, I think he was even better off the court. He’s one of the guys that I look up to, as far as having an impact, not just on the court, but off the court. He’s done a lot of great things. He did a lot of great things for a lot of people. He was a role model of mine. It is a sad day.”

Mutombo spent 18 seasons in the NBA, playing for Denver, Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, New York and the then-New Jersey Nets. The 7-foot-2 center out of Georgetown was an eight-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA selection and went into the Hall of Fame in 2015 after averaging 9.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game for his career.

He also was part of one of the league’s most iconic playoff moments, helping eighth-seeded Denver oust top-seeded Seattle in the first round of the 1994 Western Conference playoffs. That best-of-five series marked the first time a No. 8 beat a No. 1 in NBA history.

“It’s really hard to believe,” Toronto President Masai Ujiri said Monday, pausing several times because he was overcome with emotion shortly after hearing the news of Mutombo’s death. “It’s hard for us to be without that guy. You have no idea what Dikembe Mutombo meant to me. … That guy, he made us who we are. That guy is a giant, an incredible person.”

Mutombo last played during the 2008-09 season, devoting his time after retirement to charitable and humanitarian causes. He spoke nine languages and founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, concentrating on improving health, education and quality of life for the people in the Congo.

And on occasion, LeBron James pointed out with a laugh on Monday, Mutombo didn’t necessarily improve the health of others.

“My fondest memory of Dikembe Mutombo? He fractured my face on my birthday in Cleveland with an elbow,” James, the Los Angeles Lakers’ star, said while taking several minutes Monday to pay tribute to Mutombo’s life. “I never even got an opportunity to tell him about that. But yeah. I don’t remember how old … I was in Cleveland, my first stint, and I think I was turning 22 maybe?

“I went to the hole and caught one of those Dikembe elbows, and if anybody know about the Dikembe elbows, they do not feel good. He fractured my face, and I went to the hospital that night, and I wore a mask for a little bit. That is my memory of Dikembe,” James said.

James was close on the details: Dec. 29, 2004, was when that play happened, late in the first half, one day before his 20th birthday.

Mutombo told reporters that night he wasn’t sure how James got hurt. “He was laying there and I was like, ‘What happened, what happened?’” Mutombo told the Houston Chronicle after that game. “All I know, I was running to the basket. … LeBron turned around to stop me going to the basket. The collision happened.”

Ryan Mutombo, the Hall of Famer’s son, said in a tribute posted on social media that his father “loved others with every ounce of his being.”

“My dad is my hero because he simply cared,” Ryan Mutombo wrote. “He remains the purest heart I have ever known.”

Mutombo served on the boards of many organizations, including Special Olympics International, the CDC Foundation and the National Board for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

“There was nobody more qualified than Dikembe to serve as the NBA’s first Global Ambassador,” Silver said. “He was a humanitarian at his core. He loved what the game of basketball could do to make a positive impact on communities, especially in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo and across the continent of Africa.”

Mutombo is one of three players to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year four times. The others: reigning DPOY winner Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Hall of Famer Ben Wallace.

“He was always there to talk to me and advise me on how to approach the season and take care of my body and icing after games and stretching and trying different things like yoga,” Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “He will be always remembered and may his soul rest in peace.”

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey — who was with Mutombo for many seasons in Houston — was informed of his friend’s death during the team’s media day on Monday. Tears welled in Morey’s eyes as he processed the news.

“There aren’t many guys like him,” Morey said. “Just a great human being. When I was a rookie GM in this league, my first chance in Houston, he was someone I went to all the time. … His accomplishments on the court, we don’t need to talk about too much. Just an amazing human being, what he did off the court for Africa. Rest in peace, Dikembe.”

SEATTLE (AP) — When manager Mark Kotsay removed his Oakland jersey for the final time Sunday, it was bound for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Brent Rooker? His final jersey with the name Oakland across the front will be preserved in a frame and displayed on his wall at home.

“That’ll kind of be my thing. The last jersey that says Oakland and the last time you’re representing that city specifically,” Rooker said.

The name Oakland being attached to the Athletics ended on Sunday after the final out of their season finale against the Seattle Mariners, a 6-4 defeat for the A’s. When the 2025 season begins, the A’s will still exist — and oddly enough open the year in Seattle — but the name Oakland no longer will be there.

Kotsay, who played four seasons in Oakland and finished his third season as the manager, said it was an honor to be asked to give his final jersey to the Hall of Fame.

“We talked about it on Thursday, the pride that I have of managing this club, of representing the city and the jersey and the front of it being Oakland one last time,” Kotsay said.

The last few weeks have been waves of emotion for those associated with the A’s franchise, hitting a crescendo in the last few days. There was the final home series and final game at the Coliseum in Oakland on Thursday, followed by the final games in Seattle.

There were plenty of fans in green and gold in attendance at T-Mobile Park for the finale, many wearing shirts or holding signs that continued to implore A’s ownership to sell the team. No matter which team they were supporting, fans were treated to the surprise of Rickey Henderson throwing out the first pitch in a custom half-A’s, half-Mariners jersey.

Before JJ Bleday stepped to the plate for the first at-bat to open the game, a loud chant of “Let’s go Oakland,” rung out through the stadium. That chant continued and reached its peak in the ninth inning when it seemed like even the Seattle fans were joining in.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job of keeping things in perspective and by that I mean making sure that we understand the weight, the gravity of the moment, the situation, and how much it means to a lot of people,” Rooker said. “And doing our best to honor that and to pay homage and respect to everything else to the city of Oakland and the organization, the franchise, the people, the fans, the workers, all the people deserve.”

Like Rooker, Seth Brown intends to hold on to his jersey from the final game. He said knowing what the future looks like, with the A’s relocating to Sacramento for at least three years beginning next season before a planned move to Las Vegas, has been a relief for players.

But that doesn’t minimize the emotional ties that come with the final day as Oakland.

“Every day that you get to put on that uniform is something special and for everybody who puts it on today, it’s kind of one of those things where you got to feel lucky to do what you do and lucky that you get to wear a jersey that says Oakland across the front of it,” Brown said.

Even in the opposing dugout, the thought of the A’s no longer being connected to Oakland was hard to grasp. Seattle manager Dan Wilson played in 109 career games against the A’s and while there was nostalgia when the Mariners visited Oakland earlier this month, the finality of the situation hit on Sunday.

“To have an opportunity to play them for the last time as the Oakland A’s does feel different. It’s a little bit of history passing in a way,” said Wilson, who caught the first pitch from Henderson. “I think anybody that’s around the game can appreciate the history of the game and so when that begins to change, that changes something inside of you, too.”