Serge Ibaka Is Producing More In His Career With Less Minutes

When I look at Serge Ibaka’s stats over his career, he seems to be producing the same amount. What you might not know is that Serge Ibaka is having two of his best years on the Toronto Raptors, while playing fewer minutes than he usually has. Not only is that impressive, but it is just odd in general. Ibaka was a key contributor for the Raptors last year when they made their championship run. It seems as though he is a main contributor this year for the Raptors as they are 2nd in the Eastern Conference.

Serge Ibaka Stats

Serge Ibaka has only played an average of 27 minutes the last 3 years with the Raptors. While I know that is close to starter minutes, it is still 5 minutes less and he is doing more with those fewer minutes he’s receiving. This year he actually having some career highs while playing fewer minutes. Serge Ibaka is averaging 15.8 PPG (career-high) on 52.3% shooting, and a surprising 39% 3PT shooting. That is good enough to be 4th for scoring on the Raptors. He is also averaging 8 RPG which is almost a career-high for him again. Which is leading Toronto in rebounds this year. I’m sure if he played 5 more minutes, he’d be having a career-high in rebounds as well.

Serge Ibaka is 30 now. Which most people thought he would be slowing down at this point (me included). He has in fact only gotten better with age. It is kind of wild that the Raptors are still playing great ball without Kawhi Leonard leading the way. The Pascal Siakam contract is paying off for sure. As mentioned, Serge Ibaka has helped this team to be the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. That was definitely not where I envisioned them to be after Kawhi left. Kudos to the Raptors and Serge Ibaka for still being great after losing their best player. Masai Ujiri is a genius.

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