All my life, I believe what my mind tells me; what my heart tells me. All the way back to Congo, it has worked for me.
Serge Ibaka
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.
In the playoffs, it's win or you go home.
I'm always helping my family. It's the most important thing.
In this world where we live, some people are going to love you, some people are going to hate you - that's what it is. You cannot try to force everybody to love you, it's not gonna work.
I always put in the work.
I played football when I was a kid, it is such a fun sport to play, I fancied myself as a midfielder until I grew too tall and discovered basketball.
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.
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.
I've said that before: I believe in God. With God, anything is possible.
I've been learning when to block shots against who I'm playing. I'm not just going to leave a shooter to go block shots.
By the time I was 19 years old, I had lived in five different cities in four different countries and three different continents.
My focus is to start my game with my defense every night.
I can shoot, or I can roll, I can finish inside, I can take two-point shots, I can switch on defence and I can protect the paint.
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'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.
Not all players want to play defense. You get in foul trouble, you're going to be on the bench.
Ask anybody from Africa which country is the best in terms of dressing, and they'll tell you Congo.
I was born in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, in 1989.
I believe in God, and I believe in miracles, and I believe that everything is possible.
The most difficult thing with a new shot is if you go two or three games without making it, or you struggle, and people start saying, 'You can't shoot 3s,' or, 'Why do you shoot 3s?'
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.
LeBron is not a good defender.
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.
Whatever it takes to help the team to get wins, I'm going to do it.
Mentally, starting the game versus coming off the bench, there are different vibes.
I learned a lot in Spain.
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.
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 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.
When I don't have basketball practice, I'll be in a gym for 2.5 hours - 30 minutes abs, 2 hours lifting.
I didn't know there was an NBA draft. But in my mind, I was always telling myself, one day, 'I'm going to be in professional basketball.' And I believed it. One day, I will. I believe this every day. I think about this every day. I was going to do whatever I had to do to be there. And it comes true.
My dad used to play basketball, now he gets to see me in the NBA Finals.
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 have to stay hydrated. It's very important for anyone, but especially athletes! We sweat a lot, and we need it.
You need to love to play defense.
When you play in the NBA, everybody wants to play in the All-Star Game. I really want to.
It's hard when you have to play a way you're not really used to and you feel like you can do more than just that.
As an athlete, it's always good when you can do things with the fans, try to connect with the fans.
That's the culture I come from - we like to dress nice. It is my thing.
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.
One of the things I learned playing on a good team is when the team wins, when you make the playoffs, everybody looks good.
At first, I wanted to be a good player in the NBA. When I get to a team where you have one of the two best scorers in the league, I just said to myself that I needed to do something. I need to do something to help my team, something to make my name. That's where I started to focus on defense.
I'm not gonna try to force to look for threes, but if the three is open, I'm gonna shoot it.
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.
Most of the time when you're open that's when it's tough to make shots because you try to get some different focus than normally when some guys try to contest your shots.
Not everybody can do everything at a high level.
There was a complete rupture in my left calf.
