Oklahoma City Thunder: Top 10 NBA Draft picks in franchise history

8. Serge Ibaka (PF) — No. 24 pick in 2008 NBA Draft

Career stats (with Thunder):  524 GP, 11.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 0.6 APG, 0.4 SPG, 51.2 FG%, 35.5 3P%, 76.1 FT%

In the same draft as Russell Westbrook, the Thunder picked Serge Ibaka. Ibaka was a player that did not have an offensive game but developed one down the line in his career.

His ability to put the ball on the floor and shoot the mid-range jump shot/3-pointer helped the Thunder win a lot of games and it gave them another scoring option.

Ibaka did not only score, however. He was one of the guys that provided toughness and defense for OKC.

On Dec. 30, 2011, Ibaka got into an altercation with Vince Carter. A war of words between the two would lead to both players having to be separated.

On Dec. 7, 2012, Ibaka got into an altercation with Metta World Peace. After two free throws from Kobe Bryant, World Peace and Ibaka got tangled up and wouldn’t let each other go.

It took a couple of seconds for either player to separate themselves.

On Feb. 9, 2014, Ibaka got into an altercation with Matt Barnes. Ibaka got tangled up with Blake Griffin and threw him. That’s when Barnes pushed Ibaka and a shoving match ensued.

Ibaka was able to become an emotional leader. When the other team had a character issue guy, the Thunder could count on Ibaka to be their defense. Ibaka was a tough player with the ability to play both sides of the floor and help provide physicality to the opposing team.

In many games he was an X-factor and helped the Thunder grind out wins. With Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden providing the scoring, Ibaka led the defense with brute strength that would cripple the opposing offense.

From 2011-14, Ibaka was able to make the All-Defensive First Team three times in a row. From that time span, he was able to lead the league in total blocks and in 2011-13 he was first in blocks per game. He is 35th all-time in career blocks with 1,523.