The Toronto Raptors made a smart move acquiring NBA veteran Serge Ibaka in 2017. Ibaka has been an important piece for the Raptors and helped the team win their first NBA title in franchise history.

Ibaka knows what it’s like to be around a lot of people, whether in a team setting or not. He grew up with a lot of siblings, and when you see how many he has, it will blow your mind.

Looking at the career of Serge Ibaka

Ibaka is a native of the Republic of the Congo, and his parents both played basketball. His father played in the Republic of the Congo and with the Congolese national team, and his mother played for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ibaka started playing basketball at a young age, and at the age of 17, he moved to France and joined a second-division basketball team. After playing in France, he moved to Spain, where he continued his basketball career. In 2008, he attended multiple international showcases where he would gain attention from NBA scouts.

During the 2008 NBA draft, the Seattle SuperSonics selected him with the 24th overall pick. Ibaka became the first player from the Republic of Congo to be selected in the draft. When the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma and became the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team agreed to keep Ibaka in Europe. In 2009 the Thunder signed him to a two-year contract. In his first year with the Thunder, Ibaka averaged 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game coming off the bench. During his third season, he became a starter and led the league in blocks with 3.7 per game. He also led the league in blocks the next year with three per game.

Ibaka played an important role on the Thunder team throughout his career. The Thunder played in the 2012 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Though the Thunder lost, there were high hopes in the future for the talented Thunder team. Unfortunately, the Thunder team would split up and never have the chance to make it back to another NBA Finals. Ibaka spent his first six NBA seasons playing for the Thunder and became a defensive threat in the league. He was named to the All-Defensive First Team three consecutive seasons from 2012 to 2014.

Serge Ibaka joining the Toronto Raptors and winning his first NBA title

After playing the most of the 2016-17 season with the Orlando Magic, Ibaka was traded to the Raptors late during the season. He played and started in 23 games for the Raptors averaging 14.2 points,6.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. The Raptors were among the top teams in the Eastern Conference but could never get over that hump and make it to the NBA Finals.

That all changed during the 2018-19 season. When Kawhi Leonard joined the team that season, the Raptors were a top contender to play in the finals. Ibaka continued to have an impact as he averaged 15 points and 8.1 rebounds that season. The Raptors made it to the 2019 NBA Finals and took on the Golden State Warriors. Toronto would go on to defeat the Warriors to win their first championship, and Ibaka played a big role coming off the bench during the finals as he averaged 11.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. During the 2019-20 season, Ibaka was having a good year before the season was halted. He was averaging 16 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Take a look at how many siblings Serge Ibaka has

Ibaka comes from a big family, a really big family. According to an article from theundefeated.com, it stated that Ibaka is the third youngest in a family of 18. That’s right 18, that can start a football team and have a few players on the bench.

That’s a lot of siblings who would have known that Ibaka came from a big family. His family is certainly proud of him for everything that he has accomplished so far in his career. If he wanted to take all of his siblings and start a basketball team, he would have enough for three starting lineups.