Serge Ibaka, the power forward/center of the Toronto Raptors, has seen his fair share of Playoff battles as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ibaka was a member of the Thunder for many seasons and was a part of the team that made it to the NBA Finals with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. How quickly the NBA changes.
Now, Ibaka is happy to be back in the Finals with a new team, and he held court at his media availability ahead of Thursday’s Game 1. Per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports, Ibaka took (and answered questions) in 3 different languages:
Serge Ibaka holding court in 3 different languages for 15+ minutes. Easily and by far his best/funniest media avail. as a Raptor. More to come. pic.twitter.com/a3BX4G41gv
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 28, 2019
Though he provided some amusing tidbits about his lack of trash talking ability combined with his “improving” on-court temper, perhaps the most notable quote from Ibaka came regarding his time with the Thunder. Notably, Ibaka claimed that the Game 5 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference Finals “still hurts:”
Ibaka said OKC's Game 5 loss to the Warriors in the 2016 West Finals, up 3-1, was the worst loss of his career, still haunts him. "Man, that hurts. Anytime I think about it, man, it still hurts. I'm so thankful now I have another opportunity to play against them."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 28, 2019
Certainly, other than last year’s Houston Rockets, that Thunder team was probably the best chance any team has had against the Warriors during this tremendous run. However, Ibaka believes he has a slightly better chance against them now after years of playing against them, per TSN’s Lewenberg:
“They just keep moving, its non-stop… It’s one of those teams where you have to be focused for 48 minutes. You can’t relax because if you relax and they get hot it’s gonna be a long night. You cannot be lazy against them. The key is don’t be lazy.”
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