“I found no matter who was around him ... he’d always be so proactively warm to them.” Raptors fans fondly remember Serge Ibaka, who returns to Toronto as a member of the Clippers for the first time.

Ibaka made the most of his time in Toronto, connecting with the fans and community on a personal level. He returns to a city holding on to memories of his kindness and generosity.

By Holly MacKenzieSpecial to the Star

Fri., Dec. 31, 20216 min. read

It’s all but impossible for Serge Ibaka to blend in.

Standing six-foot-10, weighing 235 pounds, blessed with cheekbones that could cut you and a jawline sharp enough to shatter glass, Ibaka’s presence immediately demands attention in any room that he enters. Add in a fashion sense that has landed him on GQ and Vanity Fair best-dressed lists, and the 13-year NBA veteran could seamlessly shift to strutting down the same high-fashion runways he watches from the front row during the NBA off-season.

Fashion is just one of Ibaka’s off-court passions, though. Giving back would be the other.

Ibaka, who became an NBA champion with the Raptors in 2019, is slated to make his first return to Toronto on Friday since signing with the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2020 NBA off-season.

TORONTO, ON- JANUARY 10 - Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka (9) signs for Abby Dangerfield as The Toronto Raptors make their annual full team visit to The Hospital for Sick Children, SickKids, at Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. January 10, 2019. Steve Russell/Toronto Star

Fans remember his 20-point performance off the bench in Game 4 on the road to give the Raptors a 3-1 series lead against the Golden State Warriors en route to the first championship in franchise history. The people he interacted with away from the court during his time in Toronto remember him as much for his creativity, kindness, humanity and philanthropy as they do for his basketball skills.

At Empire Customs, Ibaka’s go-to spot for suits and tuxedos in the city, owner Dennis Tavares and partner Byron Abad experienced his gregarious personality while creating some of his most memorable pre-game outfits. They recall Ibaka browsing the aisles of their downtown Toronto store, often showing up unannounced.

“His personality is always pleasant, he’s always laughing,” Tavares said. “He’s also really inclusive. I found no matter who was around him, even if it was someone who, you know, seemingly he wouldn’t need to talk to whatsoever, he’d always be so proactively warm to them.”

Raptors forward Serge Ibaka tries on a suit at Empire Customs with store owner Dennis Tavares (right) and partner Byron Abad.

During Ibaka’s time in Toronto, the Empire Customs team got to know the Raptor quite well. They created multiple suits for him, including a tuxedo he wore to Rihanna’s Diamond Ball in 2018 that came together, literally, the day of. After a frantic Ibaka called from New York saying he needed a tuxedo, the team collected a previously designed and unworn suit from Ibaka’s Toronto house and delivered it to head tailor Tamim Ahmadyar. Ahmadyar made the appropriate adjustments and then another associate flew to New York to hand deliver the finished tuxedo to Ibaka.

“It was a huge thing because (everything was last minute, but) he went to the Diamond Ball and just murdered it,” Tavares said. “He looked amazing. It was a double-breasted, dark navy, hybrid tuxedo and it looked outstanding.”

Every Raptors fan remembers the scarf that Ibaka wore for a game against the Indiana Pacers in February 2020 (a look that could only be outdone by Ibaka’s go-ahead three-pointer with 25.9 seconds remaining to give the Raptors the win). The iconic scarf was another last-minute Empire Customs creation.

“It was like those food show competitions where they’re like, still putting icing on the cake as the buzzer goes off,” Tavares said laughing. “Serge found a blanket and he hit us up and he said, ‘I would like to have it tonight to walk through the tunnel.’ Luckily, our tailor, Tamim, is just so intuitive. He was able to turn the blanket into smaller pieces and made it seamlessly. I was shocked. It was a buzzer beater.”

Dressing a seven-foot athlete presents a unique set of challenges, but when the end result is Ibaka walking the red carpet in your creation, they’re all worth it. And while regular drop-ins to the store aren’t possible since his move to L.A., Ibaka left a lasting impression with everyone working there.

“I was so bloody sad when he left,” Tavares said. “For someone who is a huge celebrity … he was taking time to be nice to everyone here and ask everyone questions about their kids or their lives. It was something that was really amazing.”

For Ibaka, when reflecting on his time in Toronto, the feeling was mutual.

“You could feel how important the team is to the fans and the community,” Ibaka told the Star. “Just being part of something bigger than basketball was amazing, being part of that global representation of Canada through sports and being able to contribute to the culture of the city. The connection between the team and the fans is really unique.”

Sometimes, fans became friends. Rol San Restaurant in Chinatown was a favourite stop for Ibaka after games, and while staff would often offer him a private table in the back, Ibaka’s favourite server at the restaurant, Paul Lung, says he was unbothered by fans approaching him.

“He’s a nice, nice guy,” Lung said. The two developed a friendship that led to Ibaka leaving game tickets for him at the restaurant. On one occasion, Ibaka even brought the Raptors camera crew to Rol San for one of his post-game meals to shoot a video about his favourite Toronto spot.

“It was important for me to be part of the community through the contact with fans, being part of the city actively, and also through charity with the Serge Ibaka Foundation,” Ibaka said. “We tried to have an impact in the city with specific programs focused on food insecurity but also with spreading messages of hope and being present.”

Few people in Toronto were as privy to witnessing Ibaka find ways to use his celebrity to give back as Judy White, director of development at Fred Victor, a non-profit charitable organization that helps people experiencing poverty or homelessness in Toronto.

During the pandemic, Fred Victor has served 22,000 meals monthly for those in need. The meals are prepared daily in industrial kitchens by chefs and staff who carefully plan diverse and healthy menus. Anyone familiar with Ibaka’s journey to the NBA can see how helping those struggling with food insecurity would tie into his interests.

In “Anything is Possible: A Serge Ibaka Story,” the NBA champ took the Larry O’Brien Trophy home to the Congo. In a particularly poignant scene, Ibaka stopped by the same restaurant where he used to wait outside as a child, hoping the owner would have leftovers to give to him. At Fred Victor, anyone who shows up gets a free, healthy meal, no questions asked. That spoke to Ibaka.

“He sincerely wanted to make a difference and to understand the need here,” White said. “He wanted to actually understand the cost of putting food on a plate, how many people he could impact with his partnership. And then he really wanted to actually come in and meet people. He wanted to meet children and youth in the community because he went through a lot in his own childhood.”

Ibaka’s partnership with Fred Victor originally launched in 2019 during March Break with a program called Kids Cook and Grow. The centre invited kids to attend, not knowing that Ibaka himself would be in attendance. It was Ibaka’s wish that the event not be overly publicized because he didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention.

“He arrived and did the cooking program with the kids. He was in the kitchen, he rolled up his sleeves,” White said. “And then he wanted to use the basketball games we had set up. Half the kids were playing games with Serge and then they’d come into the kitchen and they sat down afterwards and he just talked to them. It was a very profound experience because he just spoke totally from the heart, (telling them), ‘I understand what it’s like to experience things like poverty and hunger, but I’m here to tell you that anything is possible.’”

“We miss him,” White said. “We’re all so grateful for this partnership. You know, it was just really from the heart.”

Serge Ibaka at the Taste of Regent Park in August 2019.

Once again, for Ibaka, the feeling is mutual.

“The city and the country were so good to me and I’ll always be grateful for that,” he said. “After almost four years, that uniqueness about Canadians is something that will live with me forever.”

Holly MacKenzie is a freelance writer based in Toronto

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