The Dallas Mavericks announced tonight that they have signed rookie free-agent center Didier Ilunga-Mbenga. Per club policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Ilunga-Mbenga (7-0, 245), a 23-year-old native of the Congo, has played professionally the past three seasons in Belgium. He was part of the Mavericks? entry in the Long Beach Summer Pro League which concluded play earlier tonight. In four games, Ilunga-Mbenga averaged 5.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and a team-high 2.50 blocks. Ilunga-Mbenga will also be part of the Mavericks? team in the Reebok Rocky Mountain Revue held in Salt Lake City from July 16-23.

For pronunciation purposes, he goes by ?D.J.? for his first name (because the pronunciation for ?Didier? sounds similar to those initials) and the ?M? is silent in his last name. Ilunga-Mbenga, a black belt in judo, speaks five languages: two dialects from the Congo, French, Portuguese and limited English.