NBA Commissioner Compares Steven Adams To 90s Bad Boy Dennis Rodman

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, arguably the most powerful man in pro basketball, has compared Kiwi cult hero Steven Adams to 90s Bulls bad boy Dennis Rodman.

Silver drew the comparison in an interview with New Zealand radio station Radiosport this morning, just a day after Adams notched up his finest NBA performance this year. The Rotorua-born Thunder centre scored 20 points in a 111-109 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers.

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"It's hard to compare players to each other, but he's special in that I can see how he has a cult following because he has a sort of look, and he plays with such energy," Silver told Radiosport.

"I would never want to compare anyone to Dennis Rodman, but in the same way that Dennis Rodman had a cult following and Dennis Rodman had so much character and sort of a pizzazz to him, just off the top of my mind, [though] I don't think that's necessarily the right comparison.

"Steven Adams is so much more than just a basketball player and I think people see that. He enjoys having a big personality and it goes along with the NBA."

Adams, who was drafted by the Oklahoma City in 2013 out of Pitt, recently signed a four-year US$100 extension with the Thunder to make him the highest paid Kiwi athlete ever.

Rodman, who played in the NBA between 1986 and 2000, was a five-time champion with the Detroit Pistons (two titles) and Chicago Bulls (three). The power forward was widely known for his larger-than-life character and off-court behavior.

'The Worm' has remained in the news over the years, accepting an invitation by North Korea to play basketball in the communist republic - while earlier this week, he was charged for a hit and run on a California freeway.