Serge Ibaka Interview

[WuTang_CMB]

Watch on YouTube

[TheGeneral99]

-Serge said that he was really confident that Kawhi would return after we won the chip and was shocked and disappointed as hell that he didn't.

-Says he feels Raptors could have won more championships had Kawhi stayed and he was in the perfect situation where he didn't need to play much during the season because the team was so good and could carry the load without him.

[mihaic]

Serge has such class, easily a favourite for me.

[HKBOY]

One of my favorite Raptors of all time.

[CPT]

Love Serge, but the clip I saw of this made me uncomfortable.

Like he didn’t really seem to be joking around, it seemed actually painful to recall. Alex continuing to press it was a bit rough. They seem to have a rapport, and I don’t think he necessarily did anything wrong, but it was just tough to watch.

Edit: I should clarify, it was the part about Kawhi leaving.

[OakleyDokely]

[OakleyDokely]

If Kawhi came back, they would've re-signed Green, and their bench would've been VanVleet, Powell, OG, Boucher, Ibaka. That bench makes the playoffs.

[ForeverTFC]

[mtcan]

Love Serge, but the clip I saw of this made me uncomfortable.

Like he didn’t really seem to be joking around, it seemed actually painful to recall. Alex continuing to press it was a bit rough. They seem to have a rapport, and I don’t think he necessarily did anything wrong, but it was just tough to watch.

Edit: I should clarify, it was the part about Kawhi leaving.

I think some of it was put on for click bait.

Alex and Serge have rapport from him being involved as a producer and consultant for Serge's cooking show...so they go back many years.

[God Squad]

Serge and Gasol manning the front court was the best we've had in franchise history.

I stand on that.

[TheGeneral99]

Serge and Gasol manning the front court was the best we've had in franchise history.

I stand on that.

Yep, even JV and Ibaka was pretty lethal, it was just that Casey was not smart enough to split them in the modern era. Obviously Gasol was a major upgrade over JV given the elite defense he brought.

[MessiahUjiri]

Serge and Gasol manning the front court was the best we've had in franchise history.

I stand on that.

Yep, even JV and Ibaka was pretty lethal, it was just that Casey was not smart enough to split them in the modern era. Obviously Gasol was a major upgrade over JV given the elite defense he brought.

Watching LeBron twirl the ball in the playoffs in Ibakas face and then hit the 3….it still pains me why Casey let us get owned like that.

[Clav]

One of my favourite players from OKC times and was super happy he won a chip with your team. That was a great year, fun interview too. thanks for posting. Serge Iblocka!

[Bankai]

Serge and Gasol manning the front court was the best we've had in franchise history.

I stand on that.

I mean a big rotation of Siakam/Gasol/Ibaka. Any team would dream to have a rotation like that. It was the best.

[Tofubeque]

Kawhi & uncle Dennis left a title defense roster perfectly constructed for him to instead go play GM for the Clippers, which failed miserably. The only championship MVP in league history to do something like that, outside of Jordan’s retirements. Great run for that 1 playoffs but he’ll never be in my top all-time Raptors, guys like Serge and Marc will.

[TheGeneral99]

Serge and Gasol manning the front court was the best we've had in franchise history.

I stand on that.

I mean a big rotation of Siakam/Gasol/Ibaka. Any team would dream to have a rotation like that. It was the best.

Yep and then you add huge wing defenders in Kawhi and OG, who could also rebound and guard bigs.

[XTC]

Serge is one of my favourite Raptors ever TBH.

Such a class act, funny, and a tough SOB. I honestly associate him more with us(Im wrong for thinking this) than OKC... It just seemed like he put everything together for a couple seasons with us (offensively + defensively). Serge was the X-factor on those Raptors teams.

[Duffman100]

If Kawhi came back, they would've re-signed Green, and their bench would've been VanVleet, Powell, OG, Boucher, Ibaka. That bench makes the playoffs.

I wonder if they resign Green in that case with FVV, Norm and OG all as options

[OakleyDokely]

If Kawhi came back, they would've re-signed Green, and their bench would've been VanVleet, Powell, OG, Boucher, Ibaka. That bench makes the playoffs.

I wonder if they resign Green in that case with FVV, Norm and OG all as options

I think that was plan because I remember Green saying he was waiting on the Kawhi decision before signing with the Lakers.

[Young Moosehead]

Where does Kawhi rank all time if he three-peats with us, then dips to the Clippers for his final years?

Also what do Kawhi's Clipper years look like if he had 3 peated with us then joined forces with an ascendant Shai with their whole slate of picks? Had he joined a team that had spent those two years building a resource base instead of a team that had emptied the cupboards for Paul George?

I think on those two opportunities alone Kawhi's career should be seen as one of the biggest "what ifs" in modern NBA history. He could have been seen as a top 10 guy if things had broken right.