Getty Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on during a time out.
The NBA’s toughest player and notoriously gentle giant Steven Adams is one of the leagues most interesting players. A hulking 7-footer from New Zealand, Adams has the unique ability to make fully grown NBA big men look like small children. Content with doing the dirty work (setting screens, boxing out, etc.), Adams’ value to the Thunder can sometimes fly under the radar, especially in the shadow of Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
However, that style of unselfish play has made him one of the Thunder’s most valuable assets and gives Russell Westbrook the perfect compliment to his style of play. Westbrook excels with the ball in his hands and pushing the pace in transition. Not only does Adams happily box out bigger men, allowing Westbrook to grab defensive rebounds and get upcourt, but his bone-rattling screens help the sub-par shooter Westbrook to get easier open looks and lanes to the basket.
While he doesn’t set the stat sheet on fire, Adams has more than proven his value to the Thunder and they rewarded Adams with a hefty pay raise after his rookie deal was up.
Steven Adams Contract: How Much Does The Thunder Center Make?
Before the 2017-2018 season, Steven Adams signed a four year, $100 million contract extension to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Adam’s deal paid him $22,471,910 in his first season and $24,157,303 this year before jumping up to $25,842,697 next season and $27,528,090 in 2020-2021.
Adams’ monster rookie extension clocked in just $4 million below the max extension, showing just how valuable he is to the team. While this did happen when the Thunder were in full-blown panic mode after Durant leaving, they also simultaneously signed Victor Oladipo to a lesser extension – before moving him in the Paul George trade. All this should go to show that the Thunder have placed a very high premium on their intriguing big man.
Steven Adams Age & Stats
Still only 25 years old and in his sixth NBA season, there is a reason to believe that Steven Adams can become an even better basketball player than the hulking behemoth we already see today. Typically, big men develop slower at the NBA level – especially ones with the raw size and strength advantages that Adams has over the rest of the league. Already blessed with a high basketball IQ, Adams should only get better at helping to protect the rim. The biggest area he can improve is on the offensive end, while as he is already an effective roller to the rim, with refinement, his skill set could make him an unstoppable monster in Pick and Roll sets.
Through his first six years, Adams has put together averages of 9.7 points per game, 7.4 rebounds, and 1 assist per game on 58.8% shooting from the field. However, Adams has steadily improved in nearly every statistical category year over year during his time in the league. This season saw him average 13.9 points per game to go with 9.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1 steal per game.
One of the rare players who can excel without the ball in his hands, Adams is a rare complimentary star who has the potential and physical tools to develop into a game-changing talent.