Serge Ibaka
Encyclopedia
Serge Jonas Ibaka Ngobila (born September 18, 1989), commonly referred to as Serge Ibaka, is a professional Spanish
basketball
player of Congolese
origin, playing the power forward
position for Real Madrid
of the Liga ACB. He is also under contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder
of the NBA, but is playing in Spain because of the 2011 NBA lockout
. 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 by his teammates. Serge is the 3rd youngest among 18 siblings.
.
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. After a lengthy, dedicated year of learning English in addition to the NBA game, Ibaka now speaks a total of four languages: Lingala (native language), French, Spanish, and English.
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 February 19th, 2011, Serge Ibaka participated in the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest
. He began the contest with a dunk from the free-throw line
. In the second round, Ibaka grabbed a stuffed animal from the rim with his mouth and dunked in one motion. On April 23, 2011 Serge Ibaka perhaps had one of his best games to date in a playoff game against the Denver Nuggets. Ibaka scored 22 points with 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
he signed a two-month contract with Real Madrid
in Spain
with an option to return to the NBA when the lockout ends.
as he was granted Spanish citizenship on July 15, 2011.
| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10
| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City
| 73 || 0 || 18.1 || .543 || .500 || .630 || 5.4 || .1 || .3 || 1.3 || 6.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11
| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City
| 82 || 44 || 27.0 || .543 || .000 || .750 || 7.6 || .3 || .4 || 2.4 || 9.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 155 || 44 || 22.8 || .543 || .333 || .710 || 6.6 || .2 || .4 || 1.9 || 8.2
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City
| 6 || 0 || 25.5 || .571 || .000 || .700 || 6.5 || .3 || .3 || 2.0 || 7.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City
| 17 || 17 || 28.8 || .462 || .000 || .825 || 7.3 || .2 || .2 || 3.1 || 9.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 23 || 17 || 27.9 || .483 || .000 || .800 || 7.1 || .2 || .3 || 2.8 || 9.3
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player of Congolese
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
origin, playing the power forward
Power forward (basketball)
Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...
position for Real Madrid
Real Madrid Baloncesto
Real Madrid Baloncesto is a Spanish professional basketball team founded in 1932 as a division of the Real Madrid club. They play in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto ....
of the Liga ACB. He is also under contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
of the NBA, but is playing in Spain because of the 2011 NBA lockout
2011 NBA lockout
The 2011 NBA lockout is the fourth lockout in the history of the National Basketball Association . The owners began the work stoppage at 12:01 am EDT on July 1, 2011. The main issues dividing the owners and the players are revenue sharing and the structure of the salary cap...
. Ibaka was drafted by the Thunder's former incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
with the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft
2008 NBA Draft
The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008 at the Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, including...
. He is referred to as Air Congo by his teammates. Serge is the 3rd youngest among 18 siblings.
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 WarSecond Congo War
The Second Congo War, also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power; however, hostilities continue to this...
.
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) 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. After a lengthy, dedicated year of learning English in addition to the NBA game, Ibaka now speaks a total of four languages: Lingala (native language), French, Spanish, and English.
Although coming to the NBA as a raw talent, Ibaka has managed to become a starter in the Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
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 February 19th, 2011, Serge Ibaka participated in the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest
Slam Dunk Contest
The Slam Dunk Contest is an annual National Basketball Association competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was inaugurated by the American Basketball Association at its All-Star Game in 1976 in Denver, the same year the slam dunk was legalized in the NCAA...
. He began the contest with a dunk from the free-throw line
Free throw line dunk
A free throw line dunk occurs when a player dunks jumps from the free throw line and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both hands over the rim. On an NBA court, the free throw line is 15 feet from the basket....
. In the second round, Ibaka grabbed a stuffed animal from the rim with his mouth and dunked in one motion. On April 23, 2011 Serge Ibaka perhaps had one of his best games to date in a playoff game against the Denver Nuggets. Ibaka scored 22 points with 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
2011 NBA lockout
During 2011 NBA lockout2011 NBA lockout
The 2011 NBA lockout is the fourth lockout in the history of the National Basketball Association . The owners began the work stoppage at 12:01 am EDT on July 1, 2011. The main issues dividing the owners and the players are revenue sharing and the structure of the salary cap...
he signed a two-month contract with Real Madrid
Real Madrid Baloncesto
Real Madrid Baloncesto is a Spanish professional basketball team founded in 1932 as a division of the Real Madrid club. They play in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto ....
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
with an option to return to the NBA when the lockout ends.
Spanish national team
Internationally, Ibaka plays for the Spain national basketball teamSpain national basketball team
The Spanish national basketball team is the basketball team representing Spain in international competitions, organized and run by the Spanish Basketball Federation...
as he was granted Spanish citizenship on July 15, 2011.
Regular season
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10
2009–10 NBA season
The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....
| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
| 73 || 0 || 18.1 || .543 || .500 || .630 || 5.4 || .1 || .3 || 1.3 || 6.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11
2010–11 NBA season
The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association . The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in six games, 4 games to 2, to win their first NBA title, and...
| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City
| 82 || 44 || 27.0 || .543 || .000 || .750 || 7.6 || .3 || .4 || 2.4 || 9.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 155 || 44 || 22.8 || .543 || .333 || .710 || 6.6 || .2 || .4 || 1.9 || 8.2
Playoffs
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2010
2010 NBA Playoffs
The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2009–10 season. The playoffs started on April 17, 2010 with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
| 6 || 0 || 25.5 || .571 || .000 || .700 || 6.5 || .3 || .3 || 2.0 || 7.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011
2011 NBA Playoffs
The 2011 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2010–11 season. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, all seeded 1 to 8 in a tournament bracket, with all rounds in a best-of-seven format. The 2011 NBA Playoffs began on...
| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City
| 17 || 17 || 28.8 || .462 || .000 || .825 || 7.3 || .2 || .2 || 3.1 || 9.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 23 || 17 || 27.9 || .483 || .000 || .800 || 7.1 || .2 || .3 || 2.8 || 9.3