Serge Ibaka
My story. My past. I don't want to forget that. I want to think about it and be reminded of it so I can be thankful and appreciative of everything.Collection: Thankful
When it's time to dress, I have to think. I have to envision myself in a certain outfit. The night before, when I go to bed, I close my eyes and start thinking about the outfit I'm going to wear tomorrow: all the colors, the fabrics, how it's going to look. It's about putting the whole thing together.
That was something I needed to learn, to understand that you can work hard and enjoy it, too.
When I don't have basketball practice, I'll be in a gym for 2.5 hours - 30 minutes abs, 2 hours lifting.
I think God put me on this earth to play basketball.
I've learned a lot from every place I've ever lived. I feel blessed for that.
It wasn't until I moved to Spain that I actually got my first glimpse of the NBA. I'd watch this program called 'NBA Action,' which came on every week and showed clips from different games.
I'd read about NBA players in magazines when I was growing up in Congo, but I had never actually seen what NBA basketball looked like because we didn't have access to a satellite for TV.
I do a lot of different projects. In Africa, sometimes it's hard. When you're not there, it's hard for people to do the things the way that you want.
I'm mature enough to understand I can find time to do other things without disturbing my focus for basketball.
You can't force people to love you. If you love somebody, you love them because you love them. People who love you, it doesn't matter; if you're good or bad, they will still love you.
Some foods you may say, 'Oh wow, this is not food.' People actually eat that somewhere. I just want people to really understand that and really appreciate it.
I'm not really good at asking people questions in interviews. I just try to have fun, to talk.
I am Mafuzzy Man, original man, 100 percent pure, man.
End of the day, when you do something, you have to do something where you bring people together. You can't do something where you separate people.
When I'm on the court, I don't smile, I don't joke, I'm not friends with anybody.
Ask anybody from Africa which country is the best in terms of dressing, and they'll tell you Congo.
Where I come from, dressing is a culture. When I go back home, I cannot dress bad. I cannot miss, or people will be like, 'What's going on with you, Serge? Did you lose your mind, or what?' That's the culture.
I learned a lot in Spain.
I'm always helping my family. It's the most important thing.
I believe in God, and I believe in miracles, and I believe that everything is possible.
That's one of my favorite things from my dad is his old jersey.
I like to always be able to contest shots. If you play against a player like Al Jefferson - he likes to pump-fake, so you need to be alert and quick. If he pump-fakes you and you go up, when you come back you need to go right back up to contest his shot.
I had a poster of Kevin Garnett hanging in my room. He was one of my inspirations when I was young. I was at my friend's house - he had a lot of money, so sometimes I'd go to his place to watch some NBA action. I remember the first time I saw Kevin Garnett, I just felt something in my body: 'This feels like me.'
My father was always pushing me to become a basketball player. In Africa, when you're a kid, every kid loves to play soccer, and I loved playing soccer. But my dad didn't want me playing soccer. He would joke, 'C'mon, man, you're too tall!' Then he promised me, 'If you start playing basketball, I'm going to give you my jersey.'
I wish I had more body parts that I could work out. If I had my way, I'd be in the gym all day. I love to lift.
You can see when people's locked in and they are ready mentally, and when they are not.
As an athlete, it's always good when you can do things with the fans, try to connect with the fans.
That's one thing you can never go wrong as an athlete, try to connect with the fans.
When I say about 'dream is free,' I don't only mean about basketball or to be in the NBA like Serge Ibaka. No. I mean in general, in anything you do. You can do anything you want, anything you dream about. You can do it. You just have to know the dream is free. And dream is free for everybody.
That's the culture I come from - we like to dress nice. It is my thing.
It's a long story, my life, growing up with my dad, my mom when she died, everything. I had bad moments in my life, my dad going to prison, I had nothing, and that's where I got my motivation.
Basketball did not save my life. God saved my life. It's not basketball. But God saved my life because he blessed me through basketball. He opened the door from basketball.
I know people that was playing basketball better than me. If they were in the NBA, they could be All-Stars, those people. They just never had the opportunity to go play professional basketball in Europe.
That's where I get my toughness in mind. From my background when I was young, everything I've been through, everything I was going through in my life. It helped me a lot, it helped me to be strong.
I lost my mom when I was seven, and at some point in my life having food it was like a big deal for me because it was not every day.
When I think about power, it's not about having money. It's about changing people's lives, changing people's moods. To me, it's a blessing to have that power.
By the time I was 19 years old, I had lived in five different cities in four different countries and three different continents.
I was born in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, in 1989.
When I was 16 I took the first opportunity I had to play basketball in a different country. I flew to Europe for the first time and found myself in the small town of Macon, in France. That was the first time I lived far away from my people, from my culture. I was young and had to adapt quickly.
When you are a young player in the NBA, sometimes you don't pay much attention to some of the cities you visit, especially in cold places like Toronto. But when you spend more time in the league you learn more about the cities you play in, and learn how to appreciate them more.
There was a complete rupture in my left calf.
In the playoffs, it's win or you go home.
I just like to look nice.
I always believe in myself.
It's always fun to play on a winning team.
An hour and a half before games, I always eat fruit - a banana, an apple, and an orange - because I'm trying to get natural energy. You get natural sugars and natural energy from that.
I have to stay hydrated. It's very important for anyone, but especially athletes! We sweat a lot, and we need it.
Taking care of my body helps me to focus.
I love to lift after games.