Let’s Start Appreciating Serge Ibaka

Thunder forward Serge Ibaka has evolved into a force along the NBA landscape. It’s time he was recognized for his impact.

Not too long ago Kevin Durant labeled Kristaps Porzingis an “NBA unicorn” because of the Latvian’s truly unique and special talents. The label was certainly warranted, considering what the New York Knicks rookie brings to the table. But could Durant have made a simple oversight? If he doesn’t look too far, he’ll find he already plays with one (maybe even two, if you count Russell Westbrook‘s special gifts). The other? Serge Ibaka of course.

The man from the Congo has become something of a scapegoat in recent times for analysts and fans. Kyle Singler and Dion Waiters own the official titles of course but, due to the higher expectations Ibaka brings, he attracts a different kind of criticism. Ibaka is the de facto “third banana” in the Oklahoma City Thunder make up and because of that he’s compared to what other third wheels bring to their teams.

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Draymond Green might be the second best overall player on the Golden State Warriors, but he’s the third man in their big three. DeAndre Jordan is the Clippers third piece. Kevin Love and Chris Bosh have endured significant criticism in their tenures as LeBron James‘ third cog. Whilst Green is criticism-free because of the Warriors’ historically great success, the rest share Ibaka’s burden of being criticized for what they cannot do.

So why exactly is that? Bosh and Love, both All-Star players, saw their numbers drop as a result of joining James. Is that really so bad? It is a natural effect of playing alongside other elite players. Numbers are always going to drop. Bosh’s defensive impact was just as important as any of his contributions to those Heat teams, while Love has sacrificed touches to become a glorified spot-up shooter. Recent games under new Cavaliers’ head coach Tyronn Lue have shown how effective Love can be when operating out of the post and on the block.

At times this season,the Thunder have struggled, particularly on the defensive end. Consistency is an ongoing issue, although in key contests with the league’s elite teams, the Thunder have looked every bit of what is expected of them. But when the chips are down, some fans have called for Ibaka to be thrown into trade talks due to his sometimes passive nature in games and a supposed lack of progress in his development. Oklahoma City have never really considered this. Why? Jump on the trade machine, and you’ll find no realistic trade that nets a return anywhere near what he is worth.

He might have some who criticise him, but there is nobody in the NBA quite like Serge Ibaka. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

You cannot quantify his value in basic numbers. He has grown in leaps and bounds as a team defender, choosing smart team defense over chasing blocks and personal numbers. Ibaka’s “lack of progress” is constantly alluded to by those who choose to pick him apart. But let’s take a look at Durant and Westbrook’s numbers for a moment, per NBA.com:

Durant: 27.9ppg (51-40-90 percent splits), 8.1rpg, 4.6apg, 1.3bpg, 0.9spg.
Westbrook: 24.4ppg (46-30-82 percent splits), 7.5rpg, 10.2apg, 0.2bpg, 2.2spg.

Firstly, those numbers are eye-popping. The two stars of the Thunder are the focal point of everything the team does, and the depth that surrounds them are put in place to do what is needed. This is exactly what Ibaka does nightly for the Thunder and it’s what is most valuable about his skill set.

In November against the Wizards, he put up 23 points in 30 minutes on 9-of-15 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 from deep. He did the same thing against the Hawks in December, with 23 on 9-of-14 shooting but added 10 rebounds and two blocks. The loss in Cleveland was one of his best games this season, with 23 points and nine rebounds. Aggression and consistency for 48 minutes is one of the issues that still cloud Ibaka’s game, but it’s something he is improving on.

The Thunder are the league’s second-best rebounding team, possessing the likes of Durant, Westbrook, Enes Kanter (a rebounding monster averaging 13.3 per 36 minutes) and, of course, Steven Adams; all of them are above average rebounders for their positions. Yet, when he’s needed to, Ibaka has stepped up and taken initiative inside. With nights of 12, 14, 11 (twice), 17 and, most recently, a 20-rebound game to his name, this is a part he must continue to pursue.

Ibaka’s not without his weaknesses though. His hands are an ongoing issue and a big cause of turnovers on offense that lead to leak outs for opposing teams in transition. A career assist average of 0.6 per game isn’t exactly stunning when you see what play-making fours are producing at the moment. But that comes back to the earlier point – Ibaka is not like anyone else.

How many power forwards/centers can protect the rim, hit jump shots out as far as the three point line, switch defensively onto guards and hold his own and also be a monster in the pick-and-roll? Just one – Ibaka.

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To place that into perspective, he is seconnd in the NBA in rim protection field-goal percentage against (42.4 percent), which is all the more impressive considering nobody defends more shots at the rim per 36 minutes (28.2) than he does. Oklahoma City posts a net rating of +10.2 per 100 possessions with him on the floor, 112.2 offensively and 101.9 defensively. Further to that, the Thunder are +9.6 points per 100 possessions better with Ibaka on the floor than when he is on the bench.

The game against Golden State had a lot of positives and a lot of negatives. One of the positives was Ibaka, who posted 15 points (on 7-of-12 shooting), 20 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, and 1 steal in 41 minutes. If he can continue to build on those performances in key contests and cut the passive nature of parts of his game, it won’t be too long before people will no longer focus on what he can’t do and start fully praising what he can.