It's a sad day for the basketball world as Dikembe Mutombo, a legend of the game, passed away after a battle with brain cancer.

From fans to NBA players to those who covered him to the many people who simply called him a friend, like Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, there have been some truly excellent tributes that have done a great job in illustrating the 7-foot-2 center's impact that went miles beyond the game of basketball.

From the moment it happened in 2011, the partnership seemed like a lower-stakes, modern-day version of mutually assured destruction: Bell Canada Enterprises and Rogers Communications, each other’s primary competitors, coming together to buy a majority share of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE).

Dikembe Mutombo unexpectedly passed away on Monday at age 58 after a battle with brain cancer. Toronto Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri knew Mutombo very well.

Masai Ujiri, visibly shaken, settled into his seat atop the stage that had been set for him at Scotiabank Arena as the first prayers and eulogies in remembrance of Dikembe Mutombo were trickling in, Players,