Steven Adams

Steven Funaki Paea He Ofa Ki Loa Adams (born 20 July 1993) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A center, Adams has played for four NBA teams since making his NBA debut in 2013.

After playing one season with the Wellington Saints in New Zealand in 2011, Adams moved to the United States in 2012 to play college basketball for the University of Pittsburgh. He played for the Panthers for one season and was then selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Following the 2013-14 season, Adams was named to NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In November 2020, after seven years in Oklahoma City, Adams was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. In August 2021, he was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he played for 2½ seasons until being traded to the Rockets in 2024.

Early life

Steven Adams was born in Rotorua, New Zealand. His father, Sid Adams, was from Bristol, England and served in the Royal Navy. His mother, Lilika Ngauamo, was a nurse from the South Pacific island of Tonga. Adams is biracial. Sid Adams stood 2.11 metres (6 ft 11 in) tall. Two of Adams' half-sisters are athletes: Dame Valerie Adams is a dual Olympic gold medallist and four-time world champion shot-putter and Lisa Adams is a para athlete who has won gold at the Paralympics in shot-put. His brothers, Warren and Sid Jr., had careers in the New Zealand National Basketball League. Adams' sister, Gabriella Adams-Gavet, has played basketball for the New Zealand national team.

Sid Adams fathered a large number of children. Some sources indicate that he had 18 children by five different women, another states that he had 18 children by six different women, and other reports say he fathered 21 children by six different women. In Steven Adams's autobiography, My Life, My Fight (2018), he wrote, "'No one knows for sure how many kids my dad had. If you ask anyone in the media they’ll say he had 18, or maybe even 20, but they won’t know where that number came from. If you ask my sister Viv, she’ll say it's 16. I always thought there were 14 of us. Whatever the number, there will only ever be one Sid Adams'".

Lilika Ngauamo died of cancer in 2000. Sid Adams died of stomach cancer in 2007, when Adams was 13. Adams has identified his father's death as one of the defining events of his life. In a 2012 interview, Adams recalled:

When I lost my dad, that was a big hit for me. I didn't have that parental guidance, and I kind of took advantage of it because I was a stupid idiot. I decided not to go to school a couple of times, go when I felt like it. I always lied to my brothers and sisters. They'd ask: 'Are you going to school?' I'd say 'yeah'. They eventually found out.

After his father died, Adams left high school and joined a gang known as the Mongrel Mob. Blossom Cameron rescued Adams from the streets of Rotorua and took him to Wellington. Cameron took responsibility for Adams and introduced him to Wellington basketball legend Kenny McFadden. McFadden accepted Adams into his basketball academy, and Blossom Cameron enrolled him in Scots College. The only rule McFadden had for Adams was that he had to attend school every day if he wanted to play basketball. While there was pressure for Adams to turn professional straight out of high school because it was believed he would never be able to qualify for the NCAA, Adams did well at Scots College and passed through the NCAA Clearinghouse after graduating from Scots in December 2011.

Preparatory school and college

After graduating from Scots College in December 2011, Adams enrolled at Notre Dame Preparatory School, a well-known basketball prep school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, for one semester. It was arranged only so that he could acclimate himself to American basketball before enrolling at Pittsburgh in June 2012.

In his lone season at Pittsburgh, Adams was named the Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year and earned Big East All-Rookie Team honours. He started all 32 games during the 2012–13 season and averaged 7.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game. Following the season, Adams declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.

Professional career

Wellington Saints (2011)

In 2011, Adams played for the Wellington Saints of the National Basketball League. He went unpaid by the Saints in order to keep his college eligibility. Adams was named the New Zealand NBL Rookie of the Year and helped the Saints win the championship. In 15 games for the Saints, he averaged 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2013–2020)

2013–16: Early years

On 27 June 2013, Adams was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, becoming just the second New Zealander to be selected in the NBA draft and the first New Zealander to be selected in the first round. He also became the first player out of Pittsburgh to be selected in the first round since 1999 when Vonteego Cummings was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 26th overall pick. On 12 July, Adams signed his rookie scale contract with the Thunder.

In his NBA debut on 30 October 2013, Adams recorded two points, three rebounds, one assist and three fouls in 18½ minutes off the bench during a 101–98 victory over the Utah Jazz. Nine days later, in just his fifth NBA game, Adams recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 119–110 victory over the Detroit Pistons. He failed to surpass either mark for the rest of the regular season. Adams appeared in 81 games (20 starts) and averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds (ninth among NBA rookies) and 0.7 blocks (ninth among NBA rookies) in 14.8 minutes. In Game 6 of the Thunder's second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Adams recorded 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. The Thunder reached the Western Conference Finals, where they were defeated by the San Antonio Spurs in six games. At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Adams earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honours.

On 16 November 2014, Adams recorded a career-high six blocks in a 69–65 loss to the Houston Rockets. On 25 December, he recorded a season-high 16 points and a then-career-high 15 rebounds in a 114–106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. On 21 January 2015, Adams recorded a career-high 20 rebounds in a 105–103 overtime win over the Washington Wizards. He missed 11 straight games over February and March with a broken ring finger on his right hand. Adams scored a season-high 16 points three times during the 2014–15 season.

On 10 January 2016, Adams tied his career high of 17 points in a 115–110 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. On 12 April, in the regular-season finale, Adams had another 17-point performance in a 102–98 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. In Game 2 of the Thunder's second-round playoff series against the Spurs, Adams recorded 12 points and 17 rebounds in the narrow 98–97 victory. Six days later in Game 4, he scored 16 points as the Thunder won 111–97. Adams helped the Thunder advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in three years, where, in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors, he recorded 16 points and 12 rebounds in the 108–102 victory. In Game 3, Adams was kicked in the testes by Draymond Green, who maintained that the kick was inadvertent. Despite going up 3–1 in the series, the Thunder were defeated in seven games.

2016–20: Increase in production

On 31 October 2016, Adams signed a four-year, $100 million contract extension with the Thunder. On 22 November, he scored a career-high 20 points in a 111–109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Adams surpassed that mark on 9 December, scoring 24 points in a 102–99 loss to the Houston Rockets. His 17 points in the first half were a career high for a half.

On 1 December 2017, Adams scored a career-high 27 points on perfect shooting from the field and the free throw line to help the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 111–107. On 2 February 2018, he had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 114–100 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, reaching 3,000 career points. Adams joined Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka as the only Thunder players with at least 3,000 career points and 350 career blocks. On 13 February, Adams recorded 22 points and 17 rebounds in a 120–112 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Twelve of his 17 rebounds were offensive, becoming the first ever Thunder player to grab 12 offensive rebounds in a game. In Game 6 of the Thunder's first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz, Adams recorded 19 points and 16 rebounds in a 96–91 loss as the Thunder bowed out of the playoffs with a 4–2 defeat.

On 17 November 2018, Adams scored 26 points in a 110–100 victory over the Phoenix Suns. On 14 December, he recorded 26 points and 14 rebounds in a 109–98 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Five days later, Adams recorded 20 points and a career-high 23 rebounds in a 132–113 victory over the Sacramento Kings. On 3 March 2019, he recorded 13 points and 22 rebounds in a 99–95 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.