Trash-talk: Toronto Raptors Week #1

Serge Ibaka: A snake for a snake… or not?

At this point, we’re all pretty accustomed to Ibaka’s goofy cooking T.V. show, How Hungry Are You? Last season, he fed Kawhi Leonard beef penis, Kyle Lowry beef testicle, and DeMar DeRozan worms.

Yet, after ousting Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors in the Finals, Durant joined the show to talk basketball and eat snake.

Now, there has got to be some said about the nuance of feeding Durant — a player that just left his team after an untimely collapse — snake. Ibaka understands this irony. Ibaka says, “I know you’re not a snake” and “Snake don’t eat snake,” to which Durant briefly replies, “I might be sometimes.”

Durant, my man, recognition is the first step to recovery.

Ibaka knew that he’d have Durant on the hook by complimenting him, so Durant ate the snake begrudgingly.

On the other hand, Durant had a lot to say about basketball, the Toronto Raptors fans, and why the Raptors got lucky in the Finals with the injuries. Ibaka got Durant to admit that Steph Curry is better than Russell Westbrook, which, to be fair, we all knew anyway. But any hope of burying bad blood seems further and further now.

Likewise, Durant spoke openly about being booed upon injury himself in front of the Toronto crowd and reportedly has no bad blood. Ibaka apologized for the fans, but the issue seems so far removed now that I’m not sure if Ibaka should have apologized in the first place.

On top of that Durant proclaimed himself as “1A” to Steph Curry’s “1A… 2,” as far as shooting goes, which made Ibaka immensely doubtful. Lastly, Durant turns the tables on Ibaka by admitting he tried to date Ibaka’s ex-girlfriend, Keri Hilson, before Ibaka and she started dating.

Needless to say, Ibaka’s got a knack for entertainment. Plus, the show provides more insight to players outside the game of basketball — a surely marketable platform. But, here’s what I’m thinking: Ibaka is a smart man and can use this to create some disarray for other teams. In essence, he’s creating beef, figuratively, while eating those beef reproductive organs.

If that’s not the most creative use of inception, then I don’t know what is.