During his workouts, Steven Adams’ massive fingers nearly envelop a basketball, making it look more like a dodgeball than something he would dribble and shoot.
All 7-feet, 255 pounds of his frame allow Adams to become one-man demolition crew on the floor for his team, using his length, muscle and athleticism to snag loose rebounds and disrupt opponents’ shots, but his hands do most of the deft work, denying passes, tipping in errant shots and making passes to teammates.
As he recently told the voice of the Thunder on the radio, Matt Pinto, on WWLS the Sports Animal, however, Adams’ offseason work has been centered on his lower body. Specifically, Adams has been trying to strengthen his legs, which look more like the enormous kauri trees from his native New Zealand than any normal man’s limbs.
Fortifying his quadriceps and calf muscles will not only aid Adams’ quickness and reaction time in defending the pick-and-roll, but will also help him snare offensive rebounds and be in the right position for those 50-50 balls that can be the difference between winning and losing.
��It’s just mainly making sure I have enough power,” Adams explained. “With my second jump, I’m trying to increase the power of my explosiveness. It’s also the stamina, getting conditioning in.”
Adams joked with Pinto that he’s been working on his squats, trying to maintain his beach body for a summer plan that while filled with work, is also comprised of some well-deserved rest. It was hard for the second-year man to watch the NBA playoffs after making the Western Conference Finals in his rookie year, so after decompressing for a week or so after the season, he got right into his training regimen.
During the 2014-15 season, Adams averaged a career-best 7.7 points on 54.4 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 25.3 minutes of action per night. Building off that positive momentum, he approached this offseason taking a holistic approach to enhancing his game. His offensive powers are continuing to evolve as he has improved his ability to knock home hook shots and push shots in the paint.
On defense, Adams has learned how to read the floor – becoming the man charged with calling out coverages, screens and opponents’ sets to teammates. This summer, however, Adams sees the mental and vocal aspects of the game as an important part of his growth.
“It’s just the communication,” Adams said. “I’m pretty comfortable now and I have a gist of the whole game. I have a long way to go, but I’m getting more comfortable with the game. That’s a big step for me. It’s mostly the defensive end, focusing on that.”
One of the men who will be charged with helping Adams absorb more defensive subtleties and develop his scoring and passing abilities will be the new man in the center of Thunder huddles – Head Coach Billy Donovan.
After holding the reins at the University of Florida for 19 years, there will be a bit of an adjustment process for Donovan, but his first order of business was to meet with the players and staff to begin developing a relationship with each one. Adams had the chance to spend time with his new coach and has been impressed thus far despite not having had the chance to work with him full time yet.
“He’s a cool dude. He’s a really nice guy,” Adams said of Donovan. “It’s still the early stages. We’ll get a better feel for it once we get the whole team back. We’re going through the basics and fundamentals right now. He’s awesome. He’s a really smart coach and I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings.”
Regardless of what lineups, schemes and rotations Donovan implements, Adams is looking ahead with confidence for the 2015-16 campaign. He sees a frontcourt alongside of him that is filled with talented players like Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison and Mitch McGary, two of the world’s very best well-rounded players and perennial All-Stars in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and a bevy of role players along the perimeter in D.J. Augustin, Anthony Morrow, Andre Roberson and Dion Waiters who all made major contributions last season.
“All of us have great chemistry together,” Adams said. “Whatever we do, we have to make sure we’re on the same page.”
In order to be a contender next season, the work will need to be done over the summer and during the ever-rigorous training camp. Adams knows, however, that the pieces are in place for the Thunder to be elite taking each day as a chance to coalesce into a special group.
Listen to the full interview: