Adams leads NBA big man revival
Steven Adams is invaluable to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He’s also a reminder: Big men in the NBA are still vital.
The imposing seven-foot (2.13m) centre from New Zealand is helping change the recent narrative that NBA centres are an endangered species, something that – based on spending and drafting this summer – is evidently not the case.
The perimeter-oriented and defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors landed All-Star DeMarcus Cousins this summer, albeit on a US$5.3 million (NZ$8.2m) bargain deal. NBA teams went big at this year’s draft, with Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley going No 1 and No 2 and centres taking four of the first seven spots. And this summer, US$285 million worth of contracts went to three centres – Nikola Jokic, Clint Capela and Jusuf Nurkic.
Not bad for often underappreciated guys.
‘‘I just think guys are just getting more opportunities to play their game, play outside the box,’’ Detroit’s Andre Drummond said. Adams is a great example. He doesn’t get many, if any, plays called for him – but he’s essential, setting effective screens for Russell Westbrook and Paul George and gobbling up rebounds. He’s a 116kg bruiser and enforcer, though the Thunder rave about his ability to move.
‘‘The one thing that enables Steven to be so effective is his overall athletic ability and his quickness and his foot speed for a guy his size,’’ Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. ‘‘At times, we’ll have him switch onto guards, and we feel pretty good about that. He runs the floor and gets offensive rebounds. I think his feet – as good as his feet are, will allow him to play in a game that has gotten a lot smaller.’’
True, big men everywhere are reinventing themselves.
Drummond, Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, Boston’s Al Horford, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Denver’s Jokic, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Houston’s Capela and Utah’s Rudy Gobert are all key to their respective teams’ hopes this season. And Washington are counting on Dwight Howard, when his injury woes allow his debut season with the Wizards to begin.
They all have extended their defensive range while still protecting the rim. They all shoot jumpers, and yes, some knock down the occasional threepointer. And they do it while often feeling a bit disrespected.
‘‘It seems like they don’t want us here,’’ Los Angeles Lakers centre JaVale McGee said, talking about his perception of a leaguewide lack of love for big men. ‘‘They’re trying to get us out of here. The prime example is them taking us off the All-Star ballot. They literally took the whole position off the All-Star ballot. So just think about that.’’
McGee’s right. Probably no more than one or two true centres will be All-Stars under the current voting format.
But chances are, no team will get to the NBA Finals without a good big, either. That’s why Thunder general manager Sam Presti holds someone like Adams, 25, in the esteem that he does.
‘‘Steven’s got, like five years before he’s in his prime,’’ Presti said. ‘‘You think about the centres in the league that are still going to be in their prime five years from now – it’s a small group.’’
Much of the new-found bigman versatility comes from the three-pointer.
Cousins made 11 threes in the first five years of his career, and then began shooting them regularly. His 2.2 made threes a game last season were a career high. He also averaged a career-best 5.4 assists. Embiid has become the face of the 76ers with his versatility – he dominates inside, shoots threes and averaged 3.2 assists a game last season.
Drummond said Embiid was a perfect example of the new centre.
‘‘He came in and started shooting threes and handling the ball and the next year, everybody’s doing it,’’ he said. ‘‘Everybody’s doing a good job of evolving to the new style of basketball.’’