Steven Adams is an excellent player for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has also been involved in several altercations over the years, including many in which his opponent has been ejected.
So why is that?
Writing in his new autobiography, Adams attempted to detail why he thought opposing NBA players had such an issue with him on the floor. Basically, Adams said that it started out as a simple issue of a rookie big man learning not to foul so much, and evolved from there.
Well, that and Adams also admitted that he tried to annoy guys to get their motor going.
Via The Spinoff:I didn’t understand how all these players could react so aggressively to me all the time. I figured they must all have grown up as only children. Anyone who grew up with a bunch of siblings knows that parents are basically just refs for the first 10 years of your life. The trick was to annoy your siblings as much as you could without being caught by your household ref. Nudge them, bump them, stand in their way, but insist you’re not touching them.
These are all little kiddie moves that work just as well on the basketball court. At home, if you cracked first and tried to punch your sibling in front of your parents, everyone got a hiding. But on the basketball court, if you lose your cool first, you’re usually the only one who gets punished.
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I think what took those veterans by surprise was that I was a mere rookie and yet had the gall to annoy them and make them crack. I think some of them considered it disrespectful of me or some sort of dirty tactic. No, it was just that in that particular aspect of the game I’d had a lifetime of practice. When I started in the NBA I was already a veteran in taking hits.
So there you have it. Adams, writing in a bit of a coy fashion, admits that he does try to get on the nerves of noted NBA big men. However, whatever he does certainly seems to work. Adams is one of the best young forwards in the game, and his aggressive style bodes well for the Thunder on both ends of the floor.
Adams’ book, Steven Adams: My Life, My Fight, is out now in New Zealand for a whopping $40. It will be available on Amazon on October 9 in the U.S.
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