Serge Jonas Ibaka Ngobila (born 18 September 1989) is a Congolese-Spanish professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers. Ibaka was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s former incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics, with the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He is a three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection and has twice led the league in blocks. Although born in the Republic of the Congo, Ibaka plays for the Spain national team. In 2019, he won his first NBA championship as a member of the Toronto Raptors.
About Serge Ibaka in brief
Serge Jonas Ibaka Ngobila (born 18 September 1989) is a Congolese-Spanish professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association. Ibaka was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s former incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics, with the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He is a three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection and has twice led the league in blocks. Although born in the Republic of the Congo, Ibaka plays for the Spain national team. In 2019, he won his first NBA championship as a member of the Toronto Raptors. He 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. He moved to France at the age of 17 and joined a second-division basketball team before moving to Spain, where he taught himself Spanish. In 2008, he entered several international showcases, picking up an MVP award at the Reebok Eurocamp and the attention of NBA scouts.
In July 2009, the Thunder paid the buyout, and signed him to a two-year contract with two more optional seasons. He played in the 2011 NBA lockout 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. On 19 February 2012, he recorded his first career triple-double against the Denver Nuggets, scoring 14 points, grabbing 15 rebounds, and getting a double-double. In August 2012 Ibaka signed a four-year deal with the Thunder worth 48 million USD. In the 2012 NBA Finals Ibaka averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds, but the Thunder fell to the Miami Heat in five games. He finished second in voting for the Defensive Player of the Year, behind Tyson Chandler, behind the New York Knicks’ Tyson Chandler. He went on to win the NBA Finals in six games against the San Antonio Spurs. In 2013, he went from 11–11 field goals to 11-11 from the field.
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