While Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams has carved out an impressive NBA career, he’s certainly not the only athlete in his family. And what his sister, Valerie Adams, has done is nothing short of spectacular. Adams’ family is from New Zealand, and the Thunder big man moved to the United States to play basketball for Pittsburgh.
But his sister left her mark on the Olympics (for the second time) in 2012, the same year Steven transitioned to the United States. Valerie is an Olympic gold medalist for shot put, winning gold in both 2008 and 2012 in Beijing and London.
Beyond that, she also won the silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics at Rio de Janeiro. And as impressive as her gold medals at the Olympics are, she’s won quite a few more throughout the years as well.
Valerie Adams’ Additional Medals
While Valerie has impressed at the Olympics, she’s also won gold medals at the World Championships (four), World Indoor Championships (four), Commonwealth Games (three) and Continental Cup (two). Her first victories at the World Championships and World Indoor Championships came in 2011 and 2012. She won the latter with a throw of 20.54 meters, per the New Zealand Herald, her personal best for the indoor event at the time (she later posted a mark of 20.98 m).
New Zealand’s Olympic website mentions Valerie as “one of New Zealand’s most successful and celebrated Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes.” Along with her 15 gold medals, she has four silvers and one bronze, but her dominance in shot put can’t be understated.
Valerie Adams Unbeaten in Major World Events From 2006-14
As the official Olympic website points out, Adams’ dominance in major events for shot put has been almost unbelievable. She went unbeaten in 107 competitions from 2006 through 2014 and was named the IAAF World Female Athlete of the Year in 2014. Additional awards and accolades have been a constant for Valerie over her years as an Olympic athlete.
Dame Valerie has won 15 New Zealand shot put titles and was the Halberg Sportswoman of the year award seven consecutive years from 2006 – 2012. She has also been awarded the NZOC’s Lonsdale Cup in 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014.
Valerie’s last major competition came at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games when she took home the silver medal.
It’s apparent that Steven, 25, has some big shoes to fill thanks to his older sister, but he’s impressed as a player through the early stages of his career and is coming off arguably his best NBA season. The Thunder big man averaged 13.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 block per game while shooting 59.5 percent from the field during the 2018-19 season.
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Steven Adams’ Sister, Valerie Adams, Is an Olympic Gold Medalist