serge ibaka instagram

Serge Ibaka's wildly popular Instagram talent show is raising money for a good cause

Everyone's favourite basketball-star-turned-fashion-icon has been entertaining Raptors fans on social media since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and now he's hosting an Instagram Live talent show to raise money for a good cause. 

Serge Ibaka introduced his new talent show — called "How Talented Are you?" — on social media several days ago. 

"While we are all social distancing and in quarantine, I'd like to bring positivity and reward talent and creativity. Starting with an open casting on April 8th on my IG @sergeibaka. If you are 18+ and want to participate, follow @ouenzeentertainment on Instagram first," the NBA player wrote on Twitter Monday.

"Then DM a video showing your special talent. We will let you know if you have been selected to participate in the first casting. In the end, the @IbakaFoundation will donate $20.000 to help combat Covid-19 in the ultimate winner's city or region. The winner will also receive a signed #9 Ibaka jersey."

The live auditions were held on Ibaka's Instagram yesterday, and the show included a phone call with Kawhi Leonard and a surprise appearance from DeMar DeRozan who pledged to match Ibaka's $20,000 donation. 

The auditions were such a hit, in fact, that the show actually crashed and the remaining participants had to be rescheduled. 

The next round of auditions is set for April 10 at 5 p.m., and Ibaka said they'll be finding a better method this time around to prevent a second crash. 

And on top of his already generous pledge to donate following the Instagram talent show, the Serge Ibaka Foundation announced a pledge today to match up to $100,000 in donations to Fred Victor, a homelessness charity serving over 2,000 people in Toronto every day. 

Ibaka has long been an advocate for those experiencing homelessness in the City of Toronto, and he's encouraging his fans to join him in his support for Fred Victor.

"We are incredibly grateful for this generous gift and for Serge's compassion and commitment to vulnerable people in Toronto," said Fred Victor CEO Keith Hambly.

"This pandemic has presented us with many challenges, but it is in the face of these challenges that we have seen people stepping up and giving back. It really does make a difference knowing that people like Serge are thinking of us and doing what they can to help."

Lead photo by

Serge Ibaka


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