The Denver Nuggets paid tribute to Dikembe Mutombo during their season opener on Thursday ... honoring the NBA legend with a video tribute and 55-second standing ovation following his death.
It all went down during the first quarter of the Nuggets' matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder ... with the scoreboard sharing the big man's greatest accomplishments -- the day he was drafted, career highlights, Hall of Fame induction and all the humanitarian work he did off the floor.
After the video rolled .