Steven Adams

Steven Funaki Adams is a New Zealand professional basketball player who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adams attended Scots College where he played in the National Basketball League for the Wellington Saints. He averaged 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and was named NBL Rookie of the Year. He helped the Saints win the championship in 2011.

After graduating from Scots, Adams enrolled at Notre Dame Preparatory School so he could acclimate himself to American basketball. In 2012, he enrolled at Pittsburgh. In his lone season at Pittsburgh, Adams averaged 7.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 32 games for the 2012-13 season. He was named Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year and Big East All-Rookie Team honors.

Forgoing his final three years of college eligibility, Adams declared for the NBA Draft. He was drafted as the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, becoming the first New Zealander to be drafted in the first round of an NBA Draft. Appearing in 81 games of his rookie season, Adams averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors.

In the 2014-15 season, Adams recorded a career-high 6 blocks against the Houston Rockets in a 69-65 loss. Adams helped OKC reach the Western Conference Finals in the 2016 NBA Playoffs. He averaged 10.0 points and 8.9 rebounds for the series as the Thunder lost to the Golden State Warriors by squandering a 3-1 lead in the series.

In 2016, Adams signed a four-year, $100 million contract extension with OKC. In the 2017-2018 season, he scored a career-high 27 points, shooting perfect from the field and the free-throw line, in a 111-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Later into the season, Adams scored 22 points and 17 rebounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Twelve of his seventeen rebounds were on the offensive glass, making him the first Thunder player ever to do so.