Serge Ibaka a big winner for Oklahoma City

After the NBA finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder faced a difficult question. If they couldn't afford to keep both league blocks-leader Serge Ibaka and Sixth Man of the Year James Harden, which one would stay?

The Thunder ended up securing Ibaka with a long-term extension this off-season, providing the first signal that Harden's days in Oklahoma City might be numbered. With Ibaka's deal done, there wasn't enough salary-cap space left to come close to Harden's demands and he was shipped off to Houston in a trade just before the season.

Meanwhile, Ibaka quietly has been giving Oklahoma City their money's worth. As one of the NBA's most accurate shooters, he is averaging a career-high 14.3 points, and leading the Thunder in rebounding (8.5).

"I work hard. I try to do the best I can, getting better and better," Ibaka said. "I don't want just to be like people used to know Serge Ibaka four years ago. Now is my fourth year in the NBA, so I try to get better at everything."

When Ibaka first joined the Thunder, the expectations for the Republic of Congo native were minimal. Coach Scott Brooks repeatedly said his role was simply about playing defence and providing energy.

That was a starting point after Ibaka was the 20th pick in the 2008 draft and spent an extra season playing in Europe to develop before heading to the NBA.

Since then, he has grown - not only developing his game but learning English. He earned an endorsement deal with Sprite around the time the player nicknamed "Air Congo" appeared in last year's slam dunk competition and threw one down after taking off from the free-throw line.