Steven Adams - Skilled pest, beloved Kiwi

“He’s such a Kiwi”.

How often have you found yourself saying that to yourself when watching Steven Adams play? For a Kiwi like myself, it’s often.

Whether it be him taking an elbow to the face, wearing a Waikato jersey in the locker room, or causing MVP Kevin Durant to tear up during speeches, Adam’s has made basketball that much more fun for us New Zealanders.

Tonight the Western Conference final tip-offs but down under, despite all the build-up for the Oklahoma Thunder and San Antonio Spurs first game of the series, for us Kiwis this match is almost “us versus them”.

In New Zealand’s corner is the mercurial Adams, a year ago nothing more than a gold-tooth rookie selected by the Thunder who know one gave that time of day. In the other corner, for the Spurs we have Australian Patty Mills and Kiwi Aron Baynes. Adding salt to this new rivalry could be used by the fact Baynes, who was born in New Zealand, now strongly pledges his allegiance with his fellow Aussie teammate.

What makes this also fun is Adam’s staunch hate for these opposing players country. Has there has ever been a Kiwi ambassador so full of hate for Australia on the big stage? New Zealand born Russell Crowe flirts with both countries often, young singer Lorde embraces her Australian following with gushing tweets, after them, we don’t have much else out there.

That’s why we have Adams. He loves to get under the skin of Aussies and anyone that’s familiar with the 7-footer will recall his words back in November last year which stung many NBA fans across the ditch, It all came back to that underarm delivery, with New Zealand’s Brian McKechnie needing an unlikely six off the last ball to win.

“They cheated us from winning, so from then on it just doesn’t matter how nice you are – if you’re an Aussie, we’re not going to like you.

“I search out Aussies and make it my job to make their lives miserable.”

While it may have been said in jest, it was still great and epitomises the New Zealand attitude.

In what’s surely to be a start of the “Steven Adams quote list” in years to come, Adams has become one of the most fun NBA figures to watch. Americans love him, or they love to hate him. The Memphis Grizzlies’ fans the latter, when there go-to man Zach Randolf why suspended for taking a shot on Adams in Game 6 in Round 1 of the playoffs.

Baynes, who cringes when you dare reference him being born in Gisbourne, New Zealand, is just another reason to root for an aggressive Adams, should he find time up against the 27-year-old who’s been proving his worth for the Spurs of late.

Unlike his Kiwi rivals, Australia won’t be watching on the edge of their seats to see how well their NBA Boomers perform. Perhaps someone may post a tweet or, if it’s a slow news day in the NRL perhaps a 100-word post at the bottom of a website.

Now, that isn’t a dig at Mills’ or Baynes’ support network, there’s just a lot more sporting-wise that takes precedence among the Aussie headlines.

Adam’s homeland on the other hand? Heck, they don’t even need to know basketball or know what the hell is going on – a Kiwi is repping New Zealand. That’s enough for this small country populated by only 4.4 million people. Those were and continue to be the people who Adams adores and who love him right back.

Adams was once touted as a rookie of the rise but after his recent warranting of headlines and form, you’d have to say his nearing the deserved “risen” part.

Thunder coach, Scott Brooks has also backed up how good Adams has become in the playoffs: “It doesn’t happen often. Give him a lot of credit. He’s stepped up and played well” Brooks said.

“As with every rookie in this league, there’s always a learning curve. He’s come along at a nice pace all season long to put himself in a position to relax and play good basketball”.

As a Kiwi, I look forward to the day we stop hearing about how many siblings Adam’s has (18), or how he tragically lost his father when he was 13-years old. I only say this because I’m excited for when those run-of-the-mill stats are replaced by Adams’ work out on the court, in particular his recent season-high 10 points with five-of-seven from the field, all the while killing it with a career-best 11 rebounds to see the Thunder advance.

The former wannabe rural farmer now has the dreams of Kiwis in his hands, to be here in America, let alone playing the NBA is a dream so far-fetched to the average Kiwi it’s this that makes Adams and his continuous allegiance to his country so special. Night after night not only does he rub up opponents the wrong way but he’s inadvertently giving New Zealand tourism a boost with the country being reference to around 4 million US viewers a game, pretty great exposure for no cost.

He’s such a Kiwi. Not bad for a kid from the country, not bad at all.