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The Hawks retired Dikembe Mutombo's No. 55 jersey: 'My name will stay forever'

When you're honoring a player and personality as outsized as Dikembe Mutombo — excuse me: Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo — you've got to break out the big guns. The Atlanta Hawks did just that Tuesday, not only retiring the No. 55 that Mutombo wore during his four-plus-year stint in Georgia, but also unveiling a brand new, evening-specific 3D court projection — complete with a 50-foot-wide holographic finger-wag — celebrating the Hall of Fame center's career as a fun extra-mile addition to the typical pageantry associated with a jersey retirement.

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The Hawks also gave out pretty great Deke-themed foam-wagging-fingers to the fans in attendance at Philips Arena, another slight tweak on the familiar formula:

The festivities then turned to more traditional fare, including a team-produced video package highlighting Mutombo's myriad contributions on and off the court and effusive remarks from several venerable admirers.

"Dikembe, you were born in the Congo, but you are a true American success story," said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

"To say that Dikembe Mutombo was a hard worker is an understatement," said former teammate, current Turner Sports analyst and close friend Steve Smith. "He was the ultimate teammate and always had our backs, literally and figuratively. He commanded respect. When you heard that unmistakable voice — 'Smitty, give me the ball' — you knew you had to listen."

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Mutombo is just the fourth player in Hawks history whose number has been retired, joining franchise legends Bob Petit, Lou Hudson and Dominique Wilkins. Fans' memories of Mutombo might not always place him in the red, white and black he wore in Atlanta from 1996 through 2001 — some might remember him more for his early years with the Denver Nuggets, highlighted by the stunning 8-over-1 upset of the Seattle SuperSonics in 1994; others might remember him best as the galvanizing interior force whose midseason acquisition and defensive acumen helped solidify the support structure behind Allen Iverson, propelling the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001 — but Mutombo left an indelible mark during his time in Atlanta.

The 7-foot-2 center made four All-Star appearances in five seasons as a Hawk, winning Defensive Player of the Year three times and and making four All-Defensive Teams (three First, one Second) in that span. He still ranks first in franchise history in blocks per game (3.2) and rebounding percentage (20 percent), third in total blocked shots (1,094), rebounds per game (12.6) and block percentage (6.3 percent), and fourth in field-goal percentage (52.9 percent). He teamed with the sweet-shooting Smith to lead a Hawks club that won more than 60 percent of its games in three straight years before a roster shuffle that included trading Smith to the Portland Trail Blazers led to the team's disintegration, kicking off a fallow period that would last nearly a decade until the Joe Johnson-Josh Smith-Al Horford clubs that restored a measure of competitive expectation to the ATL.

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"It shows something of the character, the true character, of the team we did have. It was all focused on defense, which is something that not many coaches are teaching today," Mutombo said, according to Zach Dillard of FOX Sports. " ... I still regret a lot how the team was (broken) up. I think the breakup of this team in the late 2000s — I think it hurt so many people. Everybody was like, 'Why, why, why, why?' We did have some nice corps (pieces) in the NBA. A lot of people respected us."

They still respect Mutombo, throughout the NBA and across the world, both for his on-court achievements during an 18-year career and for his considerable humanitarian efforts that have continued since his retirement, resulting in his appointment by former commissioner David Stern as the league's first ever global ambassador. It's a result that few could have pictured when Mutombo first left Africa for Georgetown in 1988, but halfway around the world, but on Tuesday night, the Son of the Congo took his permanent place in the rafters of the arena in his adopted home.

"I don't think I ever thought my jersey would be retired," Mutombo told reporters after the ceremony, according to George Henry of The Associated Press. "My name will stay forever."

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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