Raptors legend Serge Ibaka signs new contract in Europe: report

One of the most popular pieces of the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 NBA championship team has reportedly found a new home.

According to journalist Marc Mundet, popular big man Serge Ibaka has signed a contract for the upcoming season with German-based club Bayern Munich, one of the biggest teams in European basketball.

Ibaka averaged 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16 games last season with the Milwaukee Bucks but eventually found his way out of the rotation before eventually being traded to the Pacers, who bought him out. NBA free agency came and went without Ibaka seemingly finding any suitors, so it appears that European competition is the best way for the 33-year-old to continue his pro basketball career.

During his four seasons in Toronto from 2016-17 to 2019-20, Ibaka averaged 14.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 228 games for the Raptors. His most memorable moments came in the 2019 NBA playoffs, where Ibaka averaged 9.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 24 games, all of which he came off the bench for.

“If I come back here, people still make me feel like it was yesterday. Every time I come back here, I feel like, like you say, home,” Ibaka said in a video on his YouTube channel earlier this summer about a return trip to Toronto. “I think that, to me, is the most important thing. Sometimes, life is more than just basketball. Of course, we have great memories [on the court], yeah, we won the championship. But at the end of the day, waking up every day to do the things I love to do is a blessing.”

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