Steven Adams Bio
Steven Funaki Paea He Ofa Ki Loa Adams is a New Zealand professional basketball player who plays center for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) and weighing around 265 lb (120 kg), Adams has built his reputation on physical strength, elite offensive rebounding, and interior defense. Since entering the league in 2013, he has suited up for four NBA franchises, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans, and Memphis Grizzlies, and has also represented New Zealand at the club level with the Wellington Saints.
Drafted 12th overall in the 2013 NBA draft, Adams quickly became a respected rotation big man and a fan favorite for his toughness and dry humor. He earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors in 2014 and, after a serious knee injury in 2023, returned to action with the Rockets in 2024. Off the court, he authored the autobiography My Life, My Fight in 2018 and has spoken openly about his upbringing in New Zealand.
Early Life and Background
Steven Adams was born on 20 July 1993 in Rotorua, New Zealand. His father, Sid Adams, was originally from Bristol, England, served in the Royal Navy, and stood 2.11 metres tall, while his mother, Lilika Ngauamo, was a nurse from the South Pacific island of Tonga. Adams is biracial and has written about the size and complexity of his family in his autobiography.
Lilika Ngauamo died of cancer in 2000, and Sid Adams died of stomach cancer in 2007 when Steven was 13. After his father’s death, Adams drifted away from school and briefly joined a gang known as the Mongrel Mob. He has called his father’s passing one of the defining events of his life and credits a woman named Blossom Cameron with pulling him off the streets of Rotorua and bringing him to Wellington.
In Wellington, Cameron enrolled him at Scots College and introduced him to local basketball legend Kenny McFadden, who took him into his academy on the condition that he attended school every day. Adams later attended Rotorua Lakes High School before graduating from Scots College in December 2011, and he also has several athletic siblings, including Olympic shot-put champion Dame Valerie Adams and para-athlete Lisa Adams.
Path to Basketball
Adams’s organized basketball journey began in Wellington, where he trained under Kenny McFadden and balanced school with intensive on-court work. To protect his future college eligibility, he played the 2011 New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) season unpaid for the Wellington Saints, averaging 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 15 games. The Saints won the championship, and Adams was named NZNBL Rookie of the Year.
Concerns that he might not qualify for the NCAA faded when he cleared the eligibility process in late 2011. He then spent a semester at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, a well-known basketball prep school, to adjust to the American style of play. In June 2012, Adams enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, where he started all 32 games as a freshman and posted 7.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game, earning Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year and a spot on the Big East All-Rookie Team.
After just one college season, Adams declared for the 2013 NBA draft, becoming the highest-drafted New Zealander in league history when Oklahoma City took him 12th overall. He signed his rookie scale contract with the Thunder on 12 July 2013, and on 30 October 2013, he made his NBA debut against the Utah Jazz.
Steven Adams Career
Early Career (2013-2014)
Adams opened his NBA career as a reserve big man for a young, contending Oklahoma City Thunder squad. In 81 games with 20 starts, he averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 14.8 minutes per game, ranking ninth among rookies in both rebounding and blocks. He posted 17 points and 10 rebounds in just his fifth career game against the Detroit Pistons, though he did not match those numbers again during the regular season.
His strongest postseason showing came in Game 6 of the second round against the Los Angeles Clippers, when he recorded 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. The Thunder pushed on to the Western Conference Finals before falling to the San Antonio Spurs in six games. At season’s end, Adams was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Oklahoma City Thunder Breakthrough (2013-2020)
Across seven seasons in Oklahoma City, Adams grew from a raw rookie into one of the league’s most reliable interior anchors. He set a career high with six blocks against the Houston Rockets in November 2014, then posted 16 points and 15 rebounds in a Christmas Day win over the San Antonio Spurs. In January 2015, he grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in an overtime win over the Washington Wizards, even as a broken ring finger cost him 11 straight games.
By the 2015-16 season, Adams was a central figure in the Thunder’s second run to the Western Conference Finals in three years. He tied his career high with 17 points against the Portland Trail Blazers in January 2016 and added 12 points and 17 rebounds in a Game 2 win over the Spurs. Against the Golden State Warriors in the conference finals, he recorded a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double in Game 1, though the Thunder ultimately fell in seven games despite leading the series 3-1. On 31 October 2016, Adams signed a four-year, $100 million contract extension with the Thunder.
He continued to produce career-best numbers in the following seasons, highlighted by a 27-point performance on perfect shooting against the Minnesota Timberwolves in December 2017 and a 22-point, 17-rebound game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in February 2018, when he became the first Thunder player ever to grab 12 offensive rebounds in a game. He also surpassed 3,000 career points in February 2018, joining Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka as the only Thunder players with at least 3,000 points and 350 blocks for the franchise.
Memphis Grizzlies Era (2021-2024)
On 7 August 2021, Adams was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he quickly became a starter on a rising Western Conference team. He opened his Grizzlies tenure with 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers in October 2021, and he later added 12 points and 21 rebounds in a February 2022 win over the Chicago Bulls. On 2 October 2022, he signed a two-year, $25.2 million contract extension with Memphis.
His momentum was halted in January 2023, when a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) sprain in his right knee first sidelined him and then ended his regular season. After receiving a stem cell injection in March 2023, Adams missed the playoffs as the second-seeded Grizzlies were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. He sat out the entire 2023-24 NBA season following surgery on the same knee.
Houston Rockets Era (2024-Present)
On 1 February 2024, Adams was traded to the Houston Rockets in a deal that sent Victor Oladipo and three future second-round picks to Memphis. He made his Rockets debut on 28 October 2024 against the San Antonio Spurs, recording six points and three rebounds off the bench in 14 minutes. By January 2025, he had fully recovered from PCL surgery and was contributing as a key reserve.
On 2 May 2025, Adams turned in a playoff statement performance, posting 17 points, five rebounds, and three blocks in a Game 6 win over the Golden State Warriors during the first round. Although the Rockets ultimately lost that series in seven games, Adams’s play reinforced his value to the rotation, and on 18 June 2025 the team signed him to a three-year, $39 million contract extension.
Driving Style and Strengths
Adams is widely regarded as the strongest man in the NBA, and his game is built around physicality, screening, and hustle plays. He is an elite offensive rebounder, a skilled interior defender, and a respected voice in any locker room. Teammates and opponents alike speak highly of his humility, sense of humor, and unselfish approach to the game.
Notable Events and Milestones
Beyond his statistical milestones, Adams is remembered for the 2018 moment against the Denver Nuggets when he caught airborne defender Mason Plumlee rather than attempt an easy basket, earning widespread praise. He has also authored the autobiography My Life, My Fight (2018) and was featured in the 2022 documentary Dame Valerie Adams: More than Gold, which explores the childhood of his Olympic champion sister.
Steven Adams Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Steven Adams comes from a large, athletic family shaped by his late father, Sid Adams, a former Royal Navy serviceman from Bristol, England, and his mother, Lilika Ngauamo, a Tongan nurse. He has at least a dozen siblings, including half-sisters Valerie Adams, the dual Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion shot-putter, and Lisa Adams, a Paralympic gold medalist in shot-put, as well as brothers Warren and Sid Jr., who played in the New Zealand NBL.
Personal Life
Adams has been open about the grief of losing both of his parents by the time he was a teenager and has credited mentors like Blossom Cameron and Kenny McFadden with changing the course of his life. He is an avid gamer who has cited Dota 2 and Smite as his favorite titles, and in 2018 he co-wrote his memoir with childhood friend and journalist Madeleine Chapman.
2025 Season Performance
Adams’s 2024-25 campaign marked his return to a full NBA workload after missing an entire season with a knee injury. He came off the bench in a reserve role for most of the year, providing frontcourt toughness, screen-setting, and second-chance opportunities for a young Rockets team that pushed into the postseason. He hit several notable benchmarks, including his first start of the season against his former Memphis team, where he recorded an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
His defining 2025 moment came on 2 May 2025, when he delivered 17 points, five rebounds, and three blocks in a Game 6 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Although Houston fell in Game 7, Adams’s playoff performance was widely viewed as confirmation that he had returned to his pre-injury form. The Rockets rewarded him with a three-year, $39 million contract extension in June 2025.
Looking ahead, Adams is expected to remain a key rotational piece for Houston, providing veteran leadership and interior physicality as the team continues its rebuild around younger stars. With his health restored and his role secure, the 2025-26 season offers Adams a chance to build on his postseason resurgence and extend his career into a second decade in the NBA.
