Adams revels in Kiwi lockdown
Kiwi NBA superstar Steven Adams has opened up on his Covid-19 hiatus, much of which was spent in New Zealand where he experienced first-hand the outstanding job his native country did in dealing with the global pandemic.
Oklahoma City Thunder centre Adams spoke to US reporters on a conference call yesterday ahead of the NBA’s restart on July 30 in Orlando. Twenty-two of the league’s 30 teams will assemble at the Disney World resort to play eight seedings games, a possible play-in tournament and then a full 16-team playoff schedule.
The Thunder will head into the resumption with a 40-24 record and sitting fifth on the Western Conference standings, and Adams’ play in the middle will be a big part of how they fare.
The 26-year-old Kiwi is certainly ready to re-enter hoops mode, entertaining reporters on the conference call on his time spent sitting out the initial surge of the Covid-19 pandemic on the farm in New Zealand.
Adams returned to New Zealand in March, soon after the NBA season was suspended. He explained his first instinct had been to be close by family and friends as the coronavirus pandemic spread.
‘‘That’s with any international player,’’ Adams told reporters in the US.
‘‘They’ll feel the same way. They just want to be close to loved ones. In case anything happens, you want to be there.
‘I think that’s everyone’s first instinct to do when there’s a world crisis going on . . . spend some time back on the farm.
‘‘The cows are doing good, mate. I was boxing out cows and all that, bro. I had a little bit of a farmer’s tan,’’ he added, even rolling up his shirt T-sleeve to reveal his tan-line.
Adams confirmed he had been able to play pickup games against fellow Kiwis during his time in New Zealand and was happy to reflect on how successful his country had been in dealing with the pandemic.
‘‘There were a few hiccups here and there, but for the most part New Zealanders generally are quite compliant with rules,’’ Adams said.
‘‘Everyone was kind of making sure that we follow the rules properly, maintain distance and whatnot. Collectively, all the Kiwis did a really, really good job with that, and that’s what kind of shut it down.
‘‘The approach was right at the start, go hard and kick its butt.’’
According to Ministry of Health figures, New Zealand (population almost five million) has had 1180
Covid-19 cases and 22 deaths. Oklahoma, with a population of 3.9 million, has had 14,539 cases and 395 deaths.
‘‘I’m being a bit more cautious now,’’ added Adams on the call. ‘‘You should just be cautious anyway . . . It’s just simple things, like even shaking hands.
‘‘I don’t know how you feel about it, but going in for a handshake with someone is very, very sketchy.’’
New Zealand’s finest hoops export admitted the thought of staying home had crossed his mind but he said he was now fully on board with the NBA’s restart plans.
‘‘When the league presented the way they wanted to do things, it was amazing. The amount of effort and how well they packaged the Orlando thing . . . they’re taking all the right precautions for a safe environment.’’
Adams and the rest of his Thunder team-mates will go through individual workouts at the team’s practice facility before they head to Disney World next week for training camp. The Thunder resume the season on August 1 against the Utah Jazz.