Back in 1992, the signature basketball sneaker was still a relative rarity. There was Michael Jordan, of course, and Patrick Ewing had left adidas to start his eponymous brand. That was about it. So it was all the more surprising when adidas chose to pin their basketball hopes to a defensive-minded second-year center out of Georgetown who was born in Zaire and didn't even start playing basketball until he got to college. But his rookie year numbers—including a berth on the All-Star team—backed up the choice, and Dikembe Mutombo would soon receive a whole signature collection from adidas. Twenty years later, with his Hall of Fame (presumably) NBA career (presumably) concluded, as adidas Originals prepares to re-release the Mutombo for the first time, we decided to take a look back. Here's 20 Things You Didn't Know About the adidas Mutombo, which releases in retro form this Saturday, August 24th.
RELATED: The 100 Best adidas Sneakers of All Time
Also check out Mutombo on Complex TV's Quickstrike below.