NBA star must wait for haka
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Nine-time NBA All Star Chris Paul will have to witness a haka firsthand some other time. Paul, who has been among the most outstanding point guards in the NBA since debuting in 2005, is a team-mate of Kiwi NBA star Steven Adams at the Thunder, having been offloaded in the trade that sent Russell Westbrook to Houston this offseason.
The Thunder swatted away the New Zealand Breakers 110-84 in the second game of the Kiwi side’s US preseason tour against
NBA opposition at Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake
Energy Arena yesterday.
Paul is a keen fan of the haka, having seen the All Blacks perform it in rugby games and learning about it through Adams.
He tapped his legs to Adams before the game anticipating a haka from the Breakers, but he was to be disappointed.
New Zealand’s national basketball team, the Tall Blacks, perform the haka before games, but it’s not something the Breakers do, even when they are stateside.
‘‘I was hoping. I talked to Steven about it all the time,’’ Paul, a four-time NBA All First Team selection, said.
‘‘I watch the rugby team, the All Blacks.
‘‘I’ve seen some videos of them doing it all the time. Steven has been giving me some pointers and tips. I was hoping they were going to do it today, but no action.’’
Paul was desperate to see a haka in the flesh and Adams said he’d been in his ear about it since joining the Thunder.
While he didn’t get to witness the traditional Ma¯ ori war dance, Adams hoped there’d be another opportunity some day for the 34-year-old NBA legend.
‘‘He was a bit hyped. He really wants to do a haka that boy. He really does,’’ Adams said.
‘‘He wants me to teach him and all that. I told him he’s got to come to New Zealand. Take him to the marae, get him taught well.’’
Adams, New Zealand’s most successful NBA player in history, had a night to remember against the Breakers, the only professional basketball team in his homeland.
He tormented the Breakers in the first quarter, notching 10 points and nine rebounds, including six defensive boards. Adams finished with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds in just 21 minutes, barely playing in the second half with such a huge lead and the NBA regular season fast approaching.
To hear Thunder 110 (Steven Adams 19, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 18, Hamidou Diallo 16, Darius Bazley 12, Mike Muscala 10)
(Rob Loe 19, Scotty Hopson 15, Brandon Ashley 10, Corey Webster 10).
Breakers 84
on his home court in Oklahoma City, the team that drafted him in 2013 and moulded him as an elite basketballer, was a touching moment.
‘‘It was good, aye. I was singing along. I thought they were going to double up [the anthems]. I thought they were going to do the Ma¯ ori, then the English.
‘‘It was a huge honour. It was really cool to see that in Chesapeake. Really, really nice.’’
The Breakers were always in catch-up mode after trailing 29-15 after the first quarter and falling into a deeper hole in the second term.
Oklahoma City’s players compete in the NBA for a reason. Matching up against the Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies, who the Breakers lost to 108-94 on Wednesday (NZ time) will only make them better basketballers long-term and prepare them for the start of the Australian NBL season, which begins against the Sydney Kings next Friday.
Adams was delighted to have the Breakers in Oklahoma City and said basketball was the winner.
‘‘It’s just a good experience all around. It’s a different feel going against NBA players, even the way they call a game.
‘‘It’s just very different. Physicality is a bit different.’’