Wednesday, 29 July 2026 · Philippines
News

NBA -- Hawks to retire Motumbo's No.55 jersey

Motumbo.

SAN FRANCISCO -- No Atlanta Hawk will ever wear number 55 ever again.

The announcement was made to honor center Dikembe Motumbo who wore No.55 with distinction when he played Atlanta from 1996 to 2001. The jersey retirement ceremony will take place on November 24 at the Philips Arena where the Hawks will host the Boston Celtics

Motumbo becomes only the fourth Hawks player to have his jersey retired, joining Bob Petit (No.9), Dominique Wilkins (No.21) and Lou Hudson (No.23).

"The most surprising, as you can see form the tears in my eyes, is the announcement that was made," Mutombo told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

The 7-foot-2, 245-pound Motumbo played 18 seasons in the NBA, including stops in Denver, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and Houston where he retired in 2009.

In his 18 years in the NBA, Motumbo played in 1,196 regular season games and averaged 9.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per outing. Motumbo, who will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame later this month, was an 8-time All-Star.

Comments

Share your thoughts on the above article by Joan Secuya-Medida.

Read our community comment guidelines here