Bringing the Thunder: What We've Learnt From the Rise of Steven Adams

If you live in New Zealand right now and don't know who Steven Adams is, hand over your passport. You simply can't be a Kiwi.

Adams is big right now. Lomu-big. McCaw-big. His incredible post-season with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA dominates sports pages, news bulletins, Twitter feeds and pub talk.

Not only is the 22-year-old Rotorua lad tearing it up (he's got just as many double-doubles in this post-season as LeBron James), but his team is, too. With the 133-105 demolition job on the formerly invincible Golden State Warriors yesterday, the Thunder are just two wins away from an upset appearance in this year's NBA Finals.

But what have we learnt about Adams during this whole wild journey? Forget the Draymond Green 'knee in the groin' gifs. Forget the 'quick little monkeys' misquote. Forget the Uncle Bully-style facial furniture – if you can.

VICE Sports AUNZ had a deeper look at the Adams phenomena, and this is what we can take away from it:

He will form the catalyst to the 'Steven Adams generation'

The year is 2026. Steven Adams – Oklahoma City player for life – is 32, and has been one of the NBA's most dependable centres for the last decade. He's picked up multiple title rings with the Thunder, and mentioned, alongside Richie McCaw and Shaun Johnson, as one of New Zealand's great athletes.

But there's little attention on him these days. Kiwi sports media and fans are concentrating on the wave of Kiwi talent that has hit the NBA over the last three years. There's a point guard from Manurewa, a power forwards from Whangarei and a couple of centres from Hamilton.

The profile that Adams is getting now – and the big payday on the way (suggested to be around four years and US$60 million by ESPN) – is getting Kiwi kids fired up for basketball. It's like what the New Zealand team at the 1992 World Cup did for cricket.

If New Zealand could somehow come to some agreement with the Australian Institute of Sport to allow two or three Kiwi high school basketball players into their programme every year, that generation could even kick-start five years earlier.

Adams isn't a robot in media interviews, and that might change the way other Kiwi athletes speak

Call it the All Black Effect. Players are wheeled out in front of media, throw a few scripted lines their way – and head back into the sheds.

Maybe it's an after-effect of the world of journalism. Maybe it is athletes being increasingly media-managed. Disclaimer: there are still a few with character in New Zealand – All Black Cory Jane is amongst them.

What is certain is that Adams' is a laugh, and genuine character. He held on tightly to his Kiwi-isms and approach to life, and after three years in the NBA, has found a way to curate his thoughts with humour and even a hint of critical analysis.

Yep, Twitter blew up abut the 'little monkeys' thing, but Twitter will do that to most things. It's already forgotten, and Adams did a classy job of apologizing.

The guy is a natural on camera, what can we say. He can handle the hype, brush it off and give a big 'chur, bro' at the end of it.

The Steven Adams thing wasn't a thing until media made it a thing by incessantly insisting it wasn't a thing while pushing it as a thing

— Andy Glockner (@AndyGlockner)May 17, 2016

Adams is the new sporting inspiration for New Zealand Pasifika community

For years, it was Michael Jones. Then the baton was passed to Jonah Lomu, and Manu Vatuvei. Now New Zealand's Pasifika community has a new hero: Steven Adams.

Half-Tongan through his mother, Adams is arguably destined to be the first Kiwi Polynesian athlete to go global since Lomu. The pride of that fires up most Kiwi hearts – but warmth will be even more special in the Polynesian community.

What's more: Adams rise will fuel the dreams of other young Polynesian athletes. Expect them to be significant members of the fore-mentioned 'Steven Adams' generation.

'Adams Watch' will become the bane of Kiwi sports reporters' lives

Picture the scene. An overworked, under-staffed 2017 newsroom. Salaries are low, job security minimal – and the unrelenting demands of the digital beast are turning idealist young journalists into burn-outs.

The editor gives a yell: 'what was the score in that Adams game? How did he go? Can someone bash out 400 words on it, and get it up online?'

There's a groan, an opening of Internet windows and the tapping of a keyboard. The beast must be fed, and usually by reporters who will never actually get to interview Adams in real life.

Yea, being a sports reporter can be a cool job – but every vocation has its coalface.

He's a big game player

It had been a solid season for Adams. The young Kiwi had been consistent and diligent; raising his defensive application while become a real rebound threat around the rim.

Then the NBA playoffs hit, and Adams went from hardworking centre to a Big Man With Big Game. While his stats since the post-season began read an average of 10.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, arguably the most incredible number is his amount of double-doubles.

Adams notched up six in the regular season, and now six since the playoffs began. Add in that his physicality took future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan out of the Spurs series, and there's just one word: wow.

Brian Shaw, a former Denver Nuggets coach and current ESPN analyst, described Adams as a key member of the Thunder's playoff-ascendent team.

"He's a guy you always have to account for on the floor, because he's going to get the 50-50 balls and he's going to make other teams feel it," Shaw said.

All this, and the bro just stays chill like it was a shoot around back in Rotorua. Don't think big people with big wallets haven't noticed.

steven adams driving down the lane like how Arnold drove that ford bronco down the mountain in Commando

— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano)May 17, 2016

Don't expect to see much of him in the Tall Blacks.

The Tall Blacks squad for the Olympic qualifiers in Manila was named today, and guess which high profile Kiwi basketball player wasn't in the mix?

That's hardly a surprise. Adams took himself out of Tall Blacks contention back in February due to "commitments and uncertainty around that time." That's a head scratcher when Australia's Olympic roster will be packed full with the likes of Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova and Patty Mills.

Still, his choice, and will his inclusion would have had a huge impact on New Zealand's chances of getting to Rio – it's something Kiwi sports fans should get used to.

Adams has never played for New Zealand, and with turning down the chance of attending an Olympics - the biggest draw card possible for an athlete – expect his performances, which will eventually come, to be limited to cameos.