Greatest unsung hero in every NBA team’s history

Oklahoma City Thunder: Serge Ibaka

I wanted to put Nick Collison here so badly.

Sure, he played for the Thunder for 14 NBA seasons and was one of the last holdovers from when the team played in the Pacific Northwest as the then-Seattle SuperSonics. Yes, the Thunder organization is retiring his jersey soon.

But I would struggle to put down anything more than he played for the team for a long time and was an okay bench player. Plus, the jersey retirement deal feels like nothing more than another chance to throw shade at a certain superstar that left Oklahoma City to play for the basketball equivalent of The Borg in Oakland.

With that said, let’s move on to another supporting player from the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook-era Thunder: forward/center Serge Ibaka.

The big man from the Republic of the Congo entered the league as a springy forward who could block shots and patrol the paint. But as he progressed, he added a 3-point shot to his arsenal, making him a true 3-and-D player as yet another draft feather in the cap of Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti.

When the Thunder shipped James Harden out to the Houston Rockets due to the salary cap, Ibaka needed to step up offensively to help shoulder the load left by Harden. All things considered, he did a pretty good job.

Between 2012 and 2016, Ibaka averaged 13.8 points per game with a .516/.356/.776 shooting line. Even though his list of expanding skills didn’t include a refined post game, Ibaka effectively spaced the floor to give Durant and Westbrook room to work, while also being a good pick-and-pop partner.