Serge Ibaka is the Toronto Raptors Player of the Week

Every Thursday we bring you the Toronto Raptors Player of the Week. This week’s award goes to Serge Ibaka, who has been excellent through five games.

The Toronto Raptors season is going about as well as anyone could have hoped for. They’re 5-0, matching the best start in franchise history, and despite personnel and coaching changes, have been consistent on both sides of the ball. There has been no player more representative of that two-way success (besides possibly Kawhi Leonard) than Serge Ibaka.

Ibaka has looked completely rejuvenated in a new role. Nick Nurse appears adamant on playing Ibaka exclusively at center, and so far it has been paying significant dividends.

Serge Ibaka’s week

Technically, it’s not a week, but with the first Player of the Week, we will be covering the entire season thus far.

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Ibaka’s season started extremely poorly.  Coming off the bench, Ibaka shot 2-10 from the floor, turned the ball over twice, and generally looked incompetent on offense. He was put in great position multiple times, only to miss wide-open jumpers and semi-contested bunnies.

Despite his poor performance, Nurse elected to start Ibaka in the Raptors next game against the Boston Celtics. That decision paid back in spades.

Ibaka shot 10-14, scored 21 points, and generally put the clamps on Al Horford throughout the night. He played a season-high 33 minutes and allowed JV to hide anytime Horford was on the floor. Kawhi Leonard might have scored the most and garnered the most headlines, but he was the best player of the night for Toronto.

Since that time, Ibaka has scored 15+ in every contest, he’s shot a combined 56-percent during those games, and he’s averaged eight rebounds per game. Statistically, it’s hard to argue Ibaka’s impact.

However, Ibaka has impacted the game far more than his raw numbers would suggest. Although he is averaging only* 1.5 blocks per game, when Ibaka is on the court, Toronto ranks as the fourth-best defense in the entire NBA. As a whole, they rank just 10th overall.

Ibaka has been consistent on both sides of the ball and has surprised a lot of people so far in this young season.

Missed the cut

You’re probably screaming Kawhi Leonard or perhaps even Kyle Lowry right now. That’s fair, and if we are judging by raw production, probably true.

But I’m grading on a bit of a curve. Yes, Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry have been great, even by their own incredibly high standards. But in comparison to what is expected from them, no-one has been better than Ibaka. Left for dead by many Raptor faithful, Serge Ibaka is back.

Make sure to check out the Raptors Player of the Week every Thursday on RaptorsRapture.com.