No one laughed harder. No one smiled brighter. No one cared more. There was no one else like Dikembe Mutombo. The world he changed and left Monday when he died at age 58 of brain cancer will remember him for the way he lived on the floor and far beyond it.

He was a defensive force on the court who changed the way the game of basketball is played. But more importantly, Dikembe truly changed the world and improved countless lives through his humanitarian work in Africa.