Steven Adams is back from New Zealand at his sixth OKC Thunder Media Day and reminding all why he holds the honor of ‘best sound bite in the business’.
At 25 the OKC Thunder center begins his sixth campaign in the NBA. Of all the core players Adams was the man who seemed the most fatigued at season end. This was partially due to the minutes he spent on the court and his workload. On top of the regular assignments he had to offset the negatives of Carmelo Anthony’s lacking defense. The combination of those elements took a toll physically on the big man.
Therefore, it’s likely Adams was thrilled by the offseason signing of Nerlens Noel. This will free up Jerami Grant as well who was relegated to providing backup minutes for Adams last season. since it should afford the New Zealand center proper rest time in season. Entering the 2018-19 season it was important The offseason addition of Nerlens Noel provides Adams with a backup who should afford him
| Season | Age | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 20 | 81 | 20 | 14.8 | 1.1 | 2.3 | .503 | 2.3 | .503 | .503 | 1.7 | .581 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 4.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 3.3 |
| 2014-15 | 21 | 70 | 67 | 25.3 | 3.1 | 5.7 | .544 | 5.7 | .547 | .544 | 2.9 | .502 | 2.8 | 4.6 | 7.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 7.7 |
| 2015-16 | 22 | 80 | 80 | 25.2 | 3.3 | 5.3 | .613 | 5.3 | .613 | .613 | 2.5 | .582 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 6.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 8.0 |
| 2016-17 | 23 | 80 | 80 | 29.9 | 4.7 | 8.2 | .571 | 8.2 | .572 | .571 | 3.2 | .611 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 7.7 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 11.3 |
| 2017-18 | 24 | 76 | 76 | 32.7 | 5.9 | 9.4 | .629 | 9.3 | .631 | .629 | 3.8 | .559 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 13.9 |
| Career | 387 | 323 | 25.5 | 3.6 | 6.1 | .586 | 6.1 | .587 | .586 | 2.8 | .568 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 6.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 8.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/24/2018.
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Heading into 2018-19 there seems to be a lot of debate over Adams value with two distinct schools of thought. Here at Thunderous Intentions were firmly in the camp of Adams being a beast who doesn’t get enough credit for what he does. In particular the things he does off ball or that doesn’t show up in the obvious stat review. With Noel in house, and the big man able to get true rest periods this could be the season Adams takes quantifiable Will you be shooting the three ball this year?”
Steven Adams answered this the only way he knew how. He started by saying “Me?” after the shock wore off he said “No, no, no. Preseason?..no.” He closed this answer with a funny response saying “I don’t want to lose my job, mate.”
“How will the new rule impact the game?”
This week, it became official that the shot clock will reset to 14-seconds instead of 24-seconds after an offensive rebound. Steven Adams does not think this rule change will hurt any team saying “No, that is plenty of time…plenty of time to get into a set, set a few screens, if you are fast.” The Thunder desperately want to push the past this year so they should be fast enough.
While Steven Adams will not shoot the three ball, his impact will be greatly appreciated this season.