Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams is not quite as pleased to be recognized as the NBA’s toughest player as one might expect.
In the league’s survey of general managers, Adams was voted the toughest player in the league by a good margin, finishing 20 points ahead of LeBron James. When brought up to him on Wednesday, his response was quite muted.
There is no bonus involved, so what difference does it make? It’s a nice reputation to have, but one earned, not given.
Adams may also win an award for being one of the league’s more quotable players. It’s a rare combination.
Steven Adams is generally seen as an agreeable fellow, but it turns out that he wasn’t exactly too fond of former teammate Reggie Jackson.
The Oklahoma City Thunder center’s autobiography entitled “Steven Adams: My Life, My Fight” was released this week. One particular passage that went viral saw Adams take some major shots at Jackson, who is now a member of the Detroit Pistons.
In the passage, Adams criticized Jackson for complaining about his role with the Thunder and called him a “fool” for thinking that he should have been starting over Russell Westbrook. Adams also said that he “wasn’t that sad” to see Jackson go when the point guard was traded to Detroit and added that the Thunder “wanted him to leave” and “forgot about him pretty quickly.”
Jackson, now 28, was with the Thunder for the first three seasons of his career before he was dealt to the Pistons at the 2015 trade deadline. Two of those seasons overlapped with Adams, who is three years younger than Jackson.
Many of Jackson’s other ex-Thunder teammates also threw shade at him in the wake of his departure, so it’s clear that Adams is just expressing the general sentiment of those who played with Jackson in OKC.
An NBA player is once again in a bit of hot water over Instagram likes.
Fans caught Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams liking a reply to an Instagram comment about which Thunder star was the most valuable. It depicted Adams, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony, and Adams just so happened to like a comment that stated “all of them except Melo.”
Adams told Bleacher Report in a statement that the like was an accident. Few, though, would argue with the assertion, as Anthony posted a career-worst 16.2 points per game for Oklahoma City last season.
If Adams needs some help getting past an alleged accidental Instagram like, he can just reach out to one of his former teammates who’s dealt with the same problem.
Jae Crowder was ejected late in the Utah Jazz’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night for his role in a skirmish.
With under six minutes left in the game and the Jazz up by 20, Russell Westbrook whipped Crowder in the chest with his arm. That led Crowder to be upset and look for Westbrook. Carmelo Anthony and Steven Adams came over to try and hold Crowder back. In the process, Crowder tried pushing Anthony away and caught Adams with an inadvertent arm to the face.
Westbrook was called for a foul on the play, while Crowder received a tech and was ejected.
The officials wanted to make sure that the situation didn’t get out of hand considering the bad blood that’s been brewing in the series.
Steven Adams’ life motto may just be “Better late than never.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder big man did a solid for a female fan on Monday by accepting her Twitter prom proposal … that she sent over three years ago.
Needless to say, a lot has changed in those three years. Adams went from a little-known, clean-shaven center to a $100 million man with a trademark mustache. Meanwhile, the fan went from law student to actual lawyer, leading to these great tweets from her in reaction to the belated acceptance.
We will definitely be awaiting word on how she tries to proceed from here with Adams. Maybe they can go to a “Game of Thrones” premiere together.
Jamal Murray completely shook Steven Adams during the second quarter of Thursday night’s Oklahoma City Thunder-Denver Nuggets game, and his teammates absolutely lost it.
Check out the moves that Murray put on Adams that caused the Thunder big man to stumble and hit the floor:
The bench reaction was the best part:
Murray was hot in the first half of the game. He went into halftime with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-for-5 on threes. But that was his most memorable highlight for sure.
It would be fair to say Draymond Green is enjoying a bit of schadenfreude regarding Steven Adams’ kick on Thursday night.
Adams’ kick to the groin of Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal got him a technical foul on Thursday, and it also sparked a good bit of debate. Flailing legs aren’t new in the NBA, and some argued that this incident was inadvertent.
Green, who has had a number of kicking incidents, isn’t buying that one bit.
It’s particularly funny because Green has kicked Adams before. Naturally, at the time, he claimed that his act was accidental, but when the shoe is on the other foot, things look a little bit different.
Steven Adams received a technical foul for kicking Bradley Beal in the groin during the third quarter of Thursday’s Oklahoma City Thunder-Washington Wizards game.
Adams was going up for a rebound and got pulled from behind by Marcin Gortat, who ended up getting called for a foul. As he was going down, Adams kicked Beal in the groin:
Beal went down after the groin shot and had to recover on the bench while the officials figured things out. They gave Adams a tech and Gortat a foul for the sequence.
Both Beal and Adams made their free throws after the foul calls were made. Maybe Adams learned the move from his buddy Draymond Green.
Peyton Manning may be retired from the NFL, but he is still very much active in Steven Adams’ heart.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, the Oklahoma City Thunder big man was asked about the NFL playoffs and said that he was watching but not actively following them. When pressed further as to who his favorite NFL player was, Adams replied with Manning and offered a funny reason why. Here is what he said, according to Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript:
Indeed, despite Manning’s countless accomplishments on the gridiron over the years, he may always be inextricably linked with Papa John’s and their pizza. As for Adams, he could have an opportunity to follow in the legendary quarterback’s footsteps as an illustrious actor.
The calendar has flipped to November, Daylight Savings Time is no more, and most teams have played their first ten games or so, leaving roughly 72 contests remaining on the schedule. Of course, that can only mean one thing: [sounds airhorn] it’s Overreaction Season. And perhaps the most sacred of all the Overreaction Season traditions is fangirling over those who have successfully turned those 3 a.m. Instagram workouts and that reported 15 pounds of extra muscle into greater productivity on the court. Standing high above the rest of the field, here are the 12 most improved players of the 2017-18 season so far:
Kristaps Porzingis, PF, New York Knicks
Carmelo Anthony’s departure was all that was needed for our Latvian messiah to reveal himself fully. Porzingis has mutated into a nightly 30-point scoring threat now that he is the focal point of the Knickerbockers’ offense (sometimes even 40 as he proved on Sunday night in a comeback win over the Indiana Pacers), and he has been stunningly efficient despite the massive increase in volume (a career-high 50.0 percent shooting). One of Porzingis’ teammates thinks his scorching start should place him squarely in the MVP conversation. I might even take it a step further and call for beatification if he continues to flex with end-to-end displays of power like this:
Steven Adams, C, Oklahoma City Thunder
Spacing saves. With Carmelo Anthony starting at power forward instead of Taj Gibson, and Paul George stretching out opposing defenses instead of Victor Oladipo, Adams can finally rumble down the lane to his heart’s content for the Thunder. He has responded to the opportunity in kind with his best season both scoring (12.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.3 boards). Toss in his intimidating interior defense, and this mustachioed maestro looks like he’s worth every penny of the $100 million that Oklahoma City invested in him last season. What else is there to say? Funaki is a force.
Aaron Gordon, PF, Orlando Magic
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