Serge Ibaka's 3-Point Shooting Is His Latest Evolution into Two-Way NBA Star

Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka entered the NBA in 2008 as a raw athlete and shot-blocker. Nearly seven years later, his development as a three-point shooter has transformed him into one of the game's best two-way big men. 

This season, Ibaka is the Thunder's best shooter from behind the arc. That's pretty impressive on a team with Kevin Durant (career 37.8 percent from three) and Anthony Morrow (42.1 percent). The Congo native is shooting a career-high 39.6 percent from downtown, which is good for 25th in the league.

The 25-year-old's 3.7 trey attempts per game is three more than his career average (0.7 per game). That's a testament to how comfortable he's become as an outside shooter. To his credit, he told everyone in October that he's already a "stretch four," per Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman.

At the other end, Ibaka remains one of the game's premier rim protectors. He's averaging 2.2 blocks per contest, which is fourth-best in the NBA. According to NBA.com, he's also holding opponents to 47.7 percent shooting from less than six feet. Normally, opponents are shooting 59.6 percent from that range.

The emergence as a three-point threat combined with his defensive prowess is what makes Ibaka one of the league's most unique talents. 

Progression From Long Range

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Ibaka started broadening his offensive horizons during the 2012-13 season. That year, he went 20-of-57 (35.1 percent) from three-point land. In the three seasons prior, he had attempted all of six threes total (converting two of them).

Last season, he became more accurate from long range but still only took three more treys than the previous year. He went 23-of-60 (38.3 percent) from behind the arc, but the bulk of his offense came around the rim or from mid-range.

Vorped.com

This is Ibaka's 2013-14 shot chart, courtesy of Vorped.com. As you can see, when he did opt for the triple, he preferred shooting from the corners. 

This year, the deep ball has become Ibaka's primary weapon. In just 46 games, he's already knocked down more threes (67) than he had in the previous five seasons combined (45). In this season's shot chart (also courtesy of Vorped.com), you'll see some notable differences.

Vorped.com

First, Ibaka isn't as much of a presence in the post. According to Basketball-Reference.com, 179 of his 572 field-goal attempts have come either at the rim or within 3-to-10 feet. That's 31.3 percent. In '13-'14, 54.2 percent (530-of-978) of his takes came from one of those two areas.

Second, the big man's new comfort zone seems to be at the top of the key. He still dabbles in corner threes, but not nearly as often as the year before. 

The most fascinating thing about Ibaka's three-point acumen isn't his improvement. It's how he's managed to surpass longtime stretch 4s like Dirk Nowitzki, Ryan Anderson and Kevin Love to become one of the league's best shooting big men. 

Among NBA power forwards, only the Toronto Raptors' Patrick Patterson (42.4 percent) and Orlando Magic's Channing Frye (39.3 percent) are shooting a better three-point percentage than Ibaka (39.6 percent) this season. Anderson (99), Frye (96) and Love (73) have nailed more trifectas, but they have also taken significantly more attempts. 

The chart below will give you a better idea of how Ibaka stacks up against his sweet-shooting brethren. 

Name	Team	Three-Pointers Made	Three-Pointers Attempted	Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage
Serge Ibaka	OKC	67	169	39.6
Kevin Love	CLE	73	221	33
Dirk Nowitzki	DAL	59	164	36
Chris Bosh	MIA	53	142	37.3
Ryan Anderson	NOP	99	284	34.9
Channing Frye	ORL	96	241	39.8
Patrick Patterson	TOR	67	158	42.4

The key for Ibaka going forward will be finding a balance and not becoming too infatuated with the three-ball. He got a bit carried away in the Thunder's Jan. 25 loss to the Cavs, when he attempted a career-high nine treys. Head coach Scott Brooks said back in November that he'd like to see his star forward stay in the three-or-four-per-game range. 

"He doesn't necessarily have to live out there and shoot 10 a game. But three or four a game is a good number for him," Brooks said, per Slater. "He's a great shooter. He's not just a great big-man shooter."

Elite Defense 

Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

Ibaka's defensive skills set him apart from the league's other stretch 4s. In each of the previous four seasons, he has led the league in total blocks. This year, his 99 rejections are tied with the Chicago Bulls' Pau Gasol for third place. 

By comparison, the six other bigs mentioned in the previous chart have 126 blocked shots. Combined.

The defensive gap doesn't stop there. Even when Ibaka isn't serving up swats, he's still doing a better job of hindering opponents' shots than the competition. This next chart (below) shows how The Serge Protector's defense compares to the others.

Name	Defended Field-Goal Percentage	Normal Opposing Field-Goal Percentage (Differential)	Defensive Rating
Serge Ibaka	41.5	46.7 (-5.2)	102
Kevin Love	47.8	46.9 (+0.9)	106
Dirk Nowitzki	51	46.2 (+4.8)	107
Chris Bosh	47.8	46.8 (+1.1)	107
Ryan Anderson	52	46.1 (+5.9)	110
Channing Frye	50.4	46.8 (+3.6)	108
Patrick Patterson	47.7	45.4 (+2.3)	107

Ibaka's strong D this season also ranks pretty high in a couple of advanced categories. Per Basketball-Reference, he's sixth in the NBA with a block percentage (number of possessions that end in a block when a player's on the floor) of 5.3. His 2.2 defensive win shares (estimate of wins contributed by a player due to his defense) are 15th-best in the league.

Over the years, Ibaka's defense has earned the respect of his peers. In 2013, then-Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (now with the Houston Rockets) believed the Thunder forward deserved Defensive Player of the Year honors in '12 and '13, per Mark Medina of Inside The Lakers.  

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'Serge Ibaka with all the stuff he did this year, he should've been the guy to win it this year and last year,' Howard said. 'He led the league in blocks. That’s what defense is all about. He led the team and was number one in blocks this year. You can’t play defense without having any shot blockers. He was the No. 1 shot blocker the last two years. That’s great defense right there.'

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Last January, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich called Ibaka "the best defensive player in the league," per Slater. That's a big compliment from a man who knows a thing or two about defense. That ability to protect the rim is the difference between being a niche player and becoming a potential two-way star.

Richard Rowe/Getty Images

The NBA has plenty of three-point shooters and shot-blockers. However, there are very few that qualify as both. Serge Ibaka is part of that rare breed. He has become the best outside shooter and defender on an Oklahoma City Thunder team that has plenty of talent in both areas.

With his improvement from behind the arc this season, Ibaka is rapidly turning into one of the league's best all-around power forwards. The next step is continuing to develop his post game. For all of the weapons the Thunder possess, they lack a consistent force in the paint.

Once he adds that to his arsenal, there may be no stopping him at either end of the court.

Note: All stats current as of Jan. 29 and are courtesy of NBA.com, unless otherwise noted.