1. Serge Jonas Ibaka Ngobila is a Spanish-Congolese professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague.
45 Facts About Serge Ibaka
1. 2.
Serge Ibaka was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft.
3.
In 2019, Serge Ibaka won an NBA championship as a key member of the Toronto Raptors.
4.
Serge Ibaka was born in Brazzaville, People's Republic of the Congo on 18 September 1989 and is the third youngest of 18 children.
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Serge Ibaka's father played basketball in the Republic of the Congo and with the Congolese national team, and his mother played for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
6.
Serge Ibaka started playing basketball at a very young age with his first club, Avenir du Rail, using the sport as an escape from his mother's untimely death and his father's imprisonment during the Second Congo War.
7.
Serge Ibaka's father organized for the family to flee the country prior to the war, but ended up as a political prisoner upon their return.
8.
Serge Ibaka preferred the club because of its better structure, as it provided sneakers and meals.
9.
In March 2007, Serge Ibaka moved to France at the age of 17 and joined a second-division basketball team before moving to Spain, where he taught himself Spanish.
10.
In Spain, Serge Ibaka soon began playing with a second-division basketball club CB L'Hospitalet.
11.
In 2008, Serge Ibaka entered several international showcases, picking up an MVP award at the Reebok Eurocamp and the attention of NBA scouts.
12.
Serge Ibaka was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 24th pick in the 2008 NBA draft.
13.
Serge Ibaka became the first player from the Republic of Congo to be selected in the draft, although the Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to keep Ibaka in Europe.
14.
Serge Ibaka 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.
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Serge Ibaka was often used for his energy in the paint, whether on defense or rebounding.
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On 19 February 2011, Serge Ibaka participated in the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
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Serge Ibaka began the contest with a free-throw line dunk.
18.
However, Serge Ibaka lost out to Blake Griffin in the competition.
19.
Serge Ibaka played all 66 games in the shortened season as a starter, averaging the most blocks in the league, 3.6 per game.
20.
However, Serge Ibaka returned in Game 3 against San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Finals.
21.
The Thunder eventually fell to the Spurs in six games as Serge Ibaka averaged 12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks throughout the playoffs.
22.
Serge Ibaka was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for the third consecutive year.
23.
On 4 January 2016, Serge Ibaka scored a season-high 25 points in a loss to the Sacramento Kings.
24.
On 23 June 2016, Serge Ibaka was traded to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova, and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis, the 11th pick of the 2016 NBA draft.
25.
On 14 February 2017, Serge Ibaka was traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Terrence Ross and a future first-round draft pick.
26.
On 7 July 2017, Serge Ibaka re-signed with the Raptors to a reported three-year, $65 million contract.
27.
Serge Ibaka finished the game 15 of 17 from the field and became the first player to start a game 14 of 14 from the field since Shaquille O'Neal did it in February 2006.
28.
In June 2019, Serge Ibaka helped the Raptors defeat the Golden State Warriors in six games during the NBA Finals to win his first NBA championship.
29.
On 25 November 2020, Serge Ibaka signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.
30.
On 10 February 2022, Serge Ibaka was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a four-team trade that sent Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye to the Clippers.
31.
On 9 February 2023, Serge Ibaka was traded to the Indiana Pacers alongside Jordan Nwora and George Hill in a four-team trade involving the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns.
32.
Serge Ibaka was waived by the Pacers two days later.
33.
On 16 September 2023, Serge Ibaka officially signed with Bayern Munich of the German Basketball Bundesliga and the EuroLeague.
34.
On 15 July 2024 Serge Ibaka parted ways with the German club.
35.
On 26 July 2024 Serge Ibaka signed a one-year deal with Real Madrid.
36.
At youth level, Serge Ibaka represented the Republic of the Congo.
37.
Years later, Serge Ibaka expressed a desire to play for the Spain national basketball team.
38.
Serge Ibaka won a silver medal with Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
39.
In 2019, Serge Ibaka was named to Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List.
40.
Serge Ibaka has a daughter who was born shortly after he left the Republic of the Congo when Serge Ibaka was still a teenager.
41.
Serge Ibaka was raised by her mother and Ibaka's father, with neither Ibaka nor his daughter knowing of each other until she was three years old.
42.
Desire believed that if Serge Ibaka were aware of his child at home, he might not have continued his basketball career.
43.
Serge Ibaka's younger brother, Igor, is a former NCAA basketball player for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
44.
On 3 April 2017, Serge Ibaka was announced as the newest member elected to the board of directors of the National Basketball Players Association Foundation, the charitable arm of the NBPA which provides strategic funding and support for players' community engagement initiatives worldwide.
45.
Serge Ibaka is related to Romanian actor and TV host Cabral Ibacka.