NBA centre of attention enjoying a taste of Kiwi

Kiwi basketball star Steven Adams has been busy working away on a checklist while home in New Zealand.

The chief task for the Oklahoma City centre was sharing his NBA exploits with Kiwi kids, while teaching a couple of Thunder teammates about local culture was also a priority.

But of equal importance for Adams was taking part in what has become a quadrennial pursuit for sport fans in New Zealand — cheering on a certain shot put star at the Olympics.

Adams, of course, was more invested than most in Valerie’s pursuit of a third straight gold medal and, while his elder sister was eventually consigned to silver, he acknowledged getting “a little bit emotional” while watching the action from Rio.

“It was amazing, bro,” Adams said yesterday before the first of three camps for budding basketballers from around the country.

“I have a different perspective to most people in New Zealand — I witnessed her train, I went over [to Switzerland] last year, and I thought I worked hard, but seeing her work is another whole level. It’s unbelievable.

“She’s the most disciplined person in the world and the hardest worker. So just witnessing that and then her recovering from the surgeries, and then being able to compete in the

I thought I worked hard, but seeing her work is another whole level. It’s unbelievable. She’s the hardest worker. Steven Adams on sister Val

Olympics and still being able to get a silver medal, I got a little bit emotional. It was really awesome.”

For all Valerie was forced to overcome to compete in Rio, her little brother has also cleared his fair share of hurdles en route to the biggest stage in world basketball. For the kids at his camps, especially those for whom a life as a professional athlete seems an impossible dream, Adams can offer incomparable advice having once been in a similar situation.

His story from a truant in Rotorua to one of the best centres in the NBA is by now part of Adams lore, but the 23-year-old yesterday reiterated what basketball has meant for him and what it can do for the next generation.

“Since I’ve made it to the NBA, I’ve seen a lot of opportunities that kids in New Zealand don’t have, that a lot of kids from other countries have. So my main thing in coming here for this camp is showing the kids that basketball is a fun sport to play, but also showing them that there’s an opportunity there to use it as a vehicle, if they wish, to get a degree and stuff like that.”

Adams left the University of Pittsburgh too soon to attain the education but basketball has certainly set him up for life.

Already extremely well paid by New Zealand sporting standards, Oklahoma City will either soon sign the centre to a contract extension or next year offer him a new deal that will make him by far the highest-paid athlete from these shores.

And it’s a measure of his standing with the franchise that fellow Thunder players Nick Collison and Andre Roberson have this week joined Adams in his homeland, lending a hand at the camps while experiencing Kiwi culture off the court.

“We had a hangi yesterday at Rangitoto — that was mean,” Adams said. “The boys enjoyed it, eh. They loved the land and everything like that. They’re trying to get used to the raw fish but they’ll come around.”