Serge Ibaka
FC Bayern Munich

Player Facts

Height: 6'10"
Weight: 235lbs.

Wingspan: 7'3"

Date of Birth: Sep. 18, 1989
College Experience: N/A

Selections

All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 3

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 5
Physical Strength: 9
Positional Size: 9
Positional Wingspan: 9
Paint Scoring: 9
Midrange Scoring: 7
Three-Point Scoring: 6
Dribbling: 4
Passing: 5
Perimeter Defense: 4
Interior Defense: 8
Rebounding: 7

Embed from Getty Images

JUMP TO SECTION

> Intro

> Screen-and-Roll Diversity

> Straight-Line Drives

> Smart Shot Selection

> Maximizing Post Mismatches

> Passing Contributions

> Paint Protection

> Pick-and-Roll D & Recovering

> Post Defense

> Diving Block Rate

> Struggles Against Speed

> Weak Defensive Rebounding at C

> Stepping Outside of His Role

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

*All short clips courtesy of Smart Highlights, NF & Z. Highlights (YouTube)

*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

Serge Ibaka patrols the paint and is generally an intelligent defender on his squad's backline. He makes incoming slashers think twice about attacking him on the interior.

On offense, Ibaka is a strong roll man at 6'10" with a reliable jumper. A mid-career positional move to the five has done wonders for his on-court success. The Republic of the Congo native sports a sprawling 7'3" wingspan.

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Screen-and-Roll Diversity

Serge is strong as both a roller and a popper. He dives to the hole with conviction and force. He also makes good contact on his screens which clears the lane for his ball-handler.

On the catch inside, Ibaka shows outstanding patience. He's willing to pivot or just hold the ball for a beat to allow his defender to get of position.

He is one of the league's most efficient finishers deep inside the paint. Serge connected on 73.7% of his restricted area shots in 2018-2019, and 73.4% in 2019-2020. 2021-2022 had him at a 72% interior conversion rate.

Serge is a proficient all-around finisher at the tin. He has a nice blend of power and finesse-based finishing moves. Ibaka also uses the glass skillfully on his close-range looks. Even when he misses, Serge tenaciously follows up his own shot.

Serge has always been a deadly popper into midrange space. With the passer ranging from Russell Westbrook to Kevin Durant, to Pascal Siakam, Ibaka has always managed to be a dependable pop man. He hit a sparkling 49.1% of his 3.0 midrange shots per contest in 2018-2019.

As a response to leaguewide trends and the ever-changing expectations from bigs, Ibaka has developed a nice three-point jumper.

Ibaka can now legitimately pop out to three which serves as a great weapon against the drop coverage. He knocked down 40.1% of his above-the-break triples in 2019-2020, primarily on pops. 2021-2022 saw him nail a hair under 39% of all catch-and-shoot triple tries.

Serge's three-point stroke sets up driving opportunities. A common sequence involves Serge popping out to three, pump faking, then attacking after his man flies by. Overall, he was fourth in 2019-2020 roll man points per game, trailing only John Collins, Domantas Sabonis, and Nikola Vucevic.

Straight-Line Drives

Serge can put the ball on the deck and attack closeouts. He'll get his big frame into the chest of the defender to sustain a good driving angle. Ibaka likes to commence these takes with a pump fake on the perimeter.

Smart Shot Selection

Understanding his hot zones and optimal shot types, Serge's threes are almost exclusively catch-and-shoot shots. Creating a shot off-the-dribble far from the hoop is not within Serge's game. Knowing this, he shot only 1 pull-up three versus 172 catch-and-shoot threes in 2019-2020, nailing 37.8% of the latter.

Beyond pops, Serge gets some unassisted threes as the trailer. He'll intentionally emerge into the frontcourt late for a chance at these looks. In semi-transition, Serge will use his foot speed to leak out and receive pitch-ahead dimes from the likes of Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Maximizing Post Mismatches

Ibaka is an opportunistic and patient post player against smaller players. He will assuredly call for the ball when he has the size mismatch down low. He's got a good-looking hook shot over the left shoulder here.

Serge will also face up to his man in the post. He uses the threat of his midrange jumper to sweep through and rumble into the paint. He was in the 64th percentile during 2019-2020 for his scoring productivity in the post.

Passing Contributions

He flashes some nice passing fundamentals such as the high-low entry feed. Ibaka is also a capable post passer, moving the rock when a second defender approaches.

Serge unselfishly makes the extra pass for the superior look. Also, he shows flashes of brilliance by accurately finding cutters and frontcourt mates inside.

Paint Protection

A smart, low-error defensive pivot, Serge knows where to position himself on this end. Ibaka is an impactful weakside help defender. He gets off the ground quickly to deny players as they rise up.

Ibaka has a giant block radius thanks to a 7'3" wingspan. He can get to or otherwise alter layup attempts well away from his torso. In 2019-2020, he held opponents to 9.2% below their typical average within six feet of the basket.

He goes straight up and remains vertical to contest without fouling. This delicate balance helps Serge typically stay out of foul trouble while providing adequate rim resistance.

Serge posted 3.7 fouls per 36 minutes in 2019-2020. To compare, fellow rim protectors Joel Embiid and Jaren Jackson Jr.'s per 36 figures were 4.2 and 5.1 respectively.

Pick-and-Roll D & Recovering

Serge gracefully maneuvers backward to stick with rollers and provide vertical resistance at the tin. He can also contain ball-handlers here and scare them into passing up a shot.

Ibaka has a great ability to get back into plays and block driving guards from behind. This may come after getting beat initially on a switch. However, Ibaka wisely puts his hand up to obstruct an opponent's vision out on the perimeter.

Post Defense

Serge is in the league's upper crust for post defenders. He was in the 92nd percentile defending the post in 2019-2020. To a similar effect, he placed in the 77th percentile for his overall job defending isolations that same year.

WEAKNESSES

Diving Block Rate

Serge's steadily declining block counts are a cause for concern. While far fewer blocks don't necessarily mean far worse interior defense, the sheer size of this drop is troublesome. More specifically, he went from averaging north of 2.0 blocks per game from 2010-2011 to 2014-2015 to never again reaching that threshold.

As his career has progressed, Serge has traded a large portion of his defensive energy in exchange for greater exertion as a scorer. While his interior defense is still strong it has no doubt suffered compared to what it once was because of this tradeoff.

Struggles Against Speed

One particular defensive struggle that plagues Ibaka is switching onto zippy guards. He's not the most agile or laterally gifted player at 6'10" and can get sped by here. This same athletic shortcoming hinders his ability to navigate off-ball screens and stick with a floor-spacing big.

Weak Defensive Rebounding at C

Ibaka is not as productive a defensive rebounder as other big-minute centers. In 2019-2020, 41 players snagged more defensive boards than Serge. Even wings like Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, and Kawhi Leonard all secured more rebounds on the defensive end that year.

Stepping Outside of His Role

He can be streaky as a shooter from distance. Serge goes through some prolonged cold stretches from deep. Moreover, he can be slowed by more physical defensive centers in the post.

Ibaka tries to do too much with the ball in his hands on occasion. This includes some ambitious dribbling and passing attempts that are outside his scope of ability.

This all culminates in a turnover rate that is a touch above what you'd like it to be. 2019-2020 saw him post 2.6 turnovers per 36 minutes at the center slot.

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Serge lead the Association in blocks per game average in back-to-back seasons, with 3.7 and 3.0 BPG in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 respectively