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Serge Ibaka

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Serge Ibaka
Ibaka (Left) in action for the Oklahoma City Thunder
No. 9 – Oklahoma City Thunder
PositionPower forward / Center
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1989-09-18) 18 September 1989 (age 35)
Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
NationalityCongolese / Spanish
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2008: 1st round, 24th overall pick
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career2007–present
Career history
2007–2008CB L'Hospitalet (Spain)
2008–2009Ricoh Manresa (Spain)
2009–presentOklahoma City Thunder
2011Real Madrid (Spain)
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Spain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Men's basketball
FIBA European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2011 Lithuania Men's basketball

Sergeballu LaMu Sayonga Loom Walahas Jonas Hugo Ibaka[1][2] (born 18 September 1989), commonly referred to as Serge Ibaka, is a Congolese-Spanish professional basketball player who plays the power forward position for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Ibaka was drafted by the Thunder's former incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics with the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He is referred to as Air Congo, Serge Protector, and Iblocka by his teammates,[3] in reference to his shot-blocking skills. Serge is the third youngest among eighteen siblings.[4] Although born in the Republic of the Congo, Ibaka represents Spain in international competition as he moved there as a teenager before joining the NBA. He is widely regarded as one of the best power forwards and one of the best shot-blockers in the NBA.[5]

Early life

Ibaka was born in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. Both his mother and his father were basketball players. His father played at the Republic of Congo and with the Congolese national team, and his mother played for the Democratic Republic of Congo. He started playing basketball at a very young age with his first club, Avenir du Rail, using the sport as an escape amongst his mother's untimely death and his father's imprisonment during the Second Congo War.[6]

Ibaka moved to Spain as a young teenager and soon found himself playing with several junior basketball clubs, most notably CB L'Hospitalet, with which he won several tournaments.

NBA career

Transition to the NBA

He was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 24th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He became the first player from the Republic of Congo to be selected in the draft, although the Oklahoma City Thunder (the team that inherited the Sonics' place in the NBA six days after the draft) agreed to keep him in Europe. He then signed a three-year contract with Ricoh Manresa from the ACB League in Spain, keeping the option to leave for the NBA after each season. In the ACB, he averaged 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1 block in 16 minutes per game.

In July 2009, the Oklahoma City Thunder paid the buyout, and signed him to a two-year contract with two more optional seasons.

Ibaka, who spoke no English when he first arrived in the NBA, depended on the help of summer league teammate Moses Ehambe to translate for him.[7] After a lengthy, dedicated year of learning English in addition to the NBA game, Ibaka speaks five languages: Lingala (Ibaka's tribal language), French (the official language of Congo), English, Catalan, and Spanish.[8]

Oklahoma City Thunder (2009–present)

Although coming to the NBA as a raw talent, Ibaka has managed to become a starter in the Thunder rotation. Ibaka is often used for his energy in the paint, whether on defense or rebounding. In his first NBA season, Ibaka played 18.1 minutes per game in 73 games, averaging 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. His blocks average led all rookies in the 2009–2010 season, and he ranked number 20 overall. In the first round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers, he played in 6 games, averaging 25.5 minutes, 7.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. His 7 blocks in game two in Los Angeles was a record (youngest player to have 7 blocks in playoff game).

On 19 February 2011, Serge Ibaka participated in the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.[9] He began the contest with a free-throw line dunk. In the second round, Ibaka grabbed a stuffed animal from the rim with his mouth and dunked in one motion. However, he lost out to Blake Griffin in the competition.

During 2011 NBA lockout he signed a two-month contract with Real Madrid in Spain alongside Spain national basketball team teammate and friend Rudy Fernández with an option to return to the NBA at the end of the lockout.[10][11] Over 6 games in the Euroleague, he averaged 5.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2 blocks in 15 minutes per game.[12]

After the lockout, Ibaka returned to the NBA after playing in Spain. On 19 February 2012, he recorded his first career triple-double against the Denver Nuggets, scoring 14 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and getting a career-high 11 blocks. [13] He played all 66 games in the shortened season as a starter, averaging the most blocks in the league, 3.6 per game. In voting for the Defensive Player of the Year, he finished second behind Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks.[14] In Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, Ibaka went 11–11 from the field.

In August 2012, Ibaka signed a four-year deal worth $48 million with the Thunder.[15]

Spanish national team

Ibaka in action for the Spain national basketball team

Internationally, Ibaka expressed an early desire to play for the Spain national basketball team. After years living in the country he was finally granted Spanish citizenship on 15 July 2011.[16] His team won the gold medal in the Eurobasket 2011, beating France in the final by a score of 98–85. He won a silver medal with Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Led the league

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Oklahoma City 73 0 18.1 .543 .500 .630 5.4 .1 .3 1.3 6.3
2010–11 Oklahoma City 82 44 27.0 .543 .000 .750 7.6 .3 .4 2.4 9.9
2011–12 Oklahoma City 66 66 27.2 .535 .333 .661 7.5 .4 .5 3.7[17] 9.1
2012–13 Oklahoma City 80 80 31.1 .573 .351 .749 7.7 .5 .4 3.0 13.2
Career 301 190 26.0 .552 .349 .713 7.1 .3 .4 2.6 9.7

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010 Oklahoma City 6 0 25.5 .571 .000 .700 6.5 .3 .3 2.0 7.8
2011 Oklahoma City 17 17 28.8 .462 .000 .825 7.3 .2 .2 3.1 9.8
2012 Oklahoma City 20 20 28.4 .528 .250 .722 5.8 .6 .6 3.0 9.8
Career 43 37 28.2 .504 .200 .767 6.5 .4 .4 2.9 9.5

See also

References

  1. ^ Serge Ibaka Official site, sergeibaka.com
  2. ^ Serge Ibaka Draft 2008 Profile, nba.com
  3. ^ Latzke, Jeff (29 April 2011). "Ibaka's impact hidden bonus in Thunder's big trade". USA Today. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  4. ^ NBA Playoffs broadcast on ABC, 18 April 2010
  5. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/news/serge-ibaka-develops-one-nba-best-power-forwards-011500332--nba.html
  6. ^ "NewsOK". M.newsok.com. 13 April 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  7. ^ Is Serge Ibaka NBA-Ready?
  8. ^ "Serge Ibaka Is Back on the Block". www.nytimes.com. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  9. ^ "NBA.com". NBA.com. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  10. ^ REAL MADRID adds size with Ibaka
  11. ^ Real Madrid officially announces Serge Ibaka
  12. ^ IBAKA, SERGE
  13. ^ "Kevin Durant has career-best 51 as Thunder make history in OT win". ESPN.com. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  14. ^ "Knicks' Chandler wins Kia Defensive Player of Year". NBA.com. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  15. ^ "Serge Ibaka agrees to extension". ESPN. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  16. ^ Helin, Kurt (15 July 2011). "Ibaka granted Spanish citizenship, will play in Eurobasket". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  17. ^ "2011–2012 NBA Stats and League Leaders – National Basketball Association – ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2 May 2012.

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