Former OKC Thunder Big Man Serge Ibaka Dishes On Potential of Previous Rosters

Oklahoma City finally pulled off the biggest accomplishment in all of basketball by winning the 2025 NBA Finals. It took a lot of trial and error over the years, but this Thunder team — and franchise — was immortalized forever in June. That doesn’t mean they weren’t dangerously close in years prior, though.

As a franchise, Oklahoma City has had so many deep runs — including one to the 2012 NBA Finals — over the years. There was a multitude of reasons why the Thunder never got over the hump, with a few of the big ones being injuries, bad luck, and running into a buzzsaw like the Golden State Warriors. But the talent level — at least at the top of the roster — was always up to par with the NBA’s best.

One of the key members of Oklahoma City’s major runs across 2011-2016 was Serge Ibaka — the shot-blocking menace that developed a smooth set jumper. He spoke to TMZ recently about the Thunder’s deep playoff runs, and how much success Oklahoma City could’ve had by keeping all of its pieces together.

“Right now when you look back, it’s easy to say we could win at least two,” Ibaka said. “It’s easy to say, but it’s not easy to do it. You know what I mean? Because there’s a lot of things (that) happen before you win a championship. On your way there, there is a lot of things (that) can happen.

“Sometimes it’s not always about talent. You can have all the talent like we had, but those things, they go with luck, too. Like I said, it’s a lot of things. Sometimes people from outside, you cannot see it behind the door: there’s a lot of things, a lot of work have to be done. So yeah, at least we could win minimum two.”

Ibaka hit the nail on the head when talking about talent — sometimes it’s not the talent that matters above all else. It’s the team’s chemistry and the overall fit of players in the rotation. The 2024-25 Thunder was the perfect mix of talent and fit. Known for their chemistry as a team, the camaraderie took the talent to the next level.

As Ibaka said, everyone points to the Thunder’s MVP core and expects them to be multi-time champions if Oklahoma City would’ve kept the squad together. But there are plenty of examples across the last 20 years of NBA basketball where superteams with multiple multi-time All-Stars fell short — or didn’t even come close.

May 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) stands on the court prior to the game against the Golden State Warriors in game five of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

In 2014, Ibaka’s calf injury was one example of both bad luck and an untimely injury that kept the Thunder from hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy. The year before, in 2013, Russell Westbrook’s infamous meniscus tear after Patrick Beverly’s antics was another. Kevin Durant’s jones fracture was another situation that hurt what could’ve been another deep playoff run.

The unlucky injuries, combined with a few short benches and other extra curricular factors ultimately proved to be the main reason why the Thunder couldn’t get over the hump.

Factoring in everything that went into the Thunder’s first championship, it’s foolish to think that simply keeping the core together would’ve secured multiple championships for the Thunder. It takes perfect injury luck, as the playoffs eventually turn into a battle of survival late. It also takes the right coach, the right system, and the perfect buy-in from the players.

For arguably the first time as a franchise, the Thunder had all the boxes checked. That’s why they were able to win the NBA Finals — not because of sheer talent alone