Despite being a highly effective option on both ends of the court, Oklahoma
City Thunder center Steven Adams is mostly known for being an agitator.
Never one to back down from a challenge and always one to impose his
physicality upon the opponent, Adams often finds himself entangled in
wrestling matches in the paint.
But against Tim Duncan, he does none of that. He doesn't even talk to the
39-year-old veteran when tasked with the challenge of stopping the Big
Fundamental. He learned that lesson a long time ago.
"He's not really crazy athletic, but he like, destroys you," Adams explained.
"And he's a nice guy. That was my biggest mistake as a rookie. I was hitting
him all the time and he was having trouble with it. And then he came over and
talked to me a bit.
"He was like, 'Hey man, how are you?' And I was like 'Oh, what a nice guy.'
And then he just dropped 20 from there on. I told (assistant coach Mark
Bryant) and he was like, that's a vet move. Don't do that. You can't be nice."
So the new approach for Adams is this:
"I don't talk to him. He tries to talk to me. I'm stone-faced, looking at
something else just trying to ignore him. That's my game plan."