The Toronto Raptors have begun training in Fort Myers, Florida ahead of the NBA‘s restart. Raptors player Serge Ibaka is oozing confidence and says the team is “locked-in” and ready to defend their crown.

The Raptors won their maiden title in franchise history by defeating the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals. By winning their first championship, they denied Steph Curry and his team the chance of winning a three-peat. 

Though Kawhi Leonard is no longer a part of the Raptors team, Ibaka remains confident that the team can certainly overcome any challenge required to retain the title. The 30-year-old connected with reporters through a conference call on Saturday, where he spoke with absolute calmness, as the Raptors head into the bubble being the second seed in the East. 

Serge Ibaka says the Toronto Raptors are mentally ready to defend their title

Ibaka was traded to the Raptors in 2017, and last year, he put up one of the best regular-season performances of his career. Ibaka averaged 15.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game which helped the Raptors collect their spot as the second seed in the Eastern Conference. 

The 6’10” towering player is now back with the same mindset, i.e to win a championship once again. “I think, physically, it’s going to take us a little bit of time, it’s kind of normal,” Ibaka said, as per Toronto Sun. However, according to him, the mental aspect of the players show much confidence towards retaining the title. 

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“But mentally I think we’re ready… We know what is waiting for us out there, now it’s time to get a little bit in game condition, and then we’ll be good to go. We believe in us,” Ibaka said. The 2019 champion spoke with maximum confidence ahead of the season’s return. “We have the experience. We have the championship mentality already. But now it’s time to go to work. And like I said, we’re ready.”

Moreover, Ibaka also mentioned how his teammates are ready to return to action with a dedicated mindset. “I saw just how everyone is in great shape,” he added. “They came here in great shape and as soon as we got here everyone was starting to put in work.”

“I’ve been in the league for 11 years. You can see when people are locked in and they are ready mentally, and when they are not. So I can tell you right now mentally everybody is ready. Everybody is ready.”

Ibaka shows off the new smart ring provided by the NBA

Last month, news came out that the NBA will be procuring smart rings to monitor the health of its players in the bubble. The Oura smart rings can foresee COVID-19 symptoms and alert a player if they aren’t maintaining social distancing. 

The smart ring came into the hands of Serge Ibaka lately, and the Toronto Raptors player shared it with his internet following. But Ibaka didn’t just post a picture of the ring to show off the features.

He posted a short video of him holding the ring, topped by a creepy “ring around the rosie” track in the background. Maybe Ibaka added the background music to depict his thoughts about the ring. Here is the video to bring out the chills: