When the news is grim, there's nothing more uplifting than the Adams family
Friday, 14 October 2022
James Nokise is a New Zealand comedian, writer and podcaster of Samoan/Welsh heritage.
OPINION: With all the hullabaloo about local body election results and the comings and goings of mayors old and young, as well as the strange kerfuffle over when Auckland’s new mayor will be coming and going, you may have been tempted to leave things in Aotearoa alone, and just check the news overseas.
Then, after seeing how the UK economy is behaving, how Russia is casually threatening the possibility of nuclear war, and how Sir John Key is somehow making international headlines for playfully telling students he would have voted for Trump and Bolsonaro because right-wingers are gonna right-wing it … well, no-one would blame you for giving up on the news altogether.
That would be unfortunate, though, because you’d miss out on some really uplifting, and historical, feel-good stories involving Kiwis.
Non-basketball fans might not be aware that Steven “Aquaman” Adams signed a two-year contract extension last week with his NBA team, the Memphis Grizzlies, for the not-insignificant sum of NZ$44.9 million.
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It’s a wonderful turnaround for Adams who, after seven seasons at the Oklahoma City Thunder, playing with superstars such as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, found himself traded two years ago to the New Orleans Pelicans.
He struggled to find a role there that worked with the team dynamic and was traded again at the end of the season to Memphis. The move was seen by many as a salary dump. To think New Zealand’s best basketball player could be shown such disrespect.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, however, played to Adams’ strengths, or rather his brute strength, and turned him back into a basketball screening machine for dynamic young guards Desmond Bane and Ja Morant.
Screening is an unglamorous task. You stand still with your arms down, acting as a barrier between your teammate and the opponents’ defender. No fan has a poster on their wall of someone setting a screen, but maybe there should be one for Adams. Running into him at full speed on the court has been described as like colliding with a truck. And losing your cool does no good since, as Chicago centre Tony Bradley found out, he can simply pick you up and carry you away.
Memphis flourished this year, winning their first-ever division title and finishing second in the Western Conference. In a small bit of poetic justice, they also managed to break the NBA record for largest victory margin against none other than Oklahoma, winning 152-79.
Morant won the Most Improved Player, Bane developed into one of the NBA’s top three-point shooters, and Adams recorded career-high averages in rebounds (10.0) and assists (3.4). Their strength-to-flair combo was possibly best summed up in a home game where “Big Kiwi” made an outrageous gridiron-like heave the length of the court to Morant, mid-air, to hit a buzzer-beater.
The contract extension takes the 29-year-old’s total NBA career earnings to about US$274.4m, making him the top-earning New Zealand athlete of all time. Not too shabby for putting an orange ball in a basket, especially when he doesn’t even do that very often.
Young Steven also briefly appears in local cinemas from next week, being interviewed in the new documentary about his definitely stronger older sister, Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold.
The film follows the journey of the Kiwi Olympic shot-put legend as she attempts, after having had two children between tournaments, not only to compete in a fifth Olympic Games, but also to win a medal. Dame Val narrates in her normal straight-talking way, and her bluntness about several heavily traumatic moments will probably endear her even more to already appreciative fans.
It’s one thing to know about her many records – like the four consecutive world titles from 2007-13, or her insane winning streak of 107 consecutive finals over eight years – but it is easy to forget the intense training and sacrifice that goes into that kind of career.
It’s also easy to forget that, for all her accomplishments, she was once a Māngere schoolkid who couldn’t afford sports shoes. New Zealand’s youngest dame is an incredible example of not giving up on those who are down and out, and investing in young people’s potential, even if it’s as simple as footwear and a place to stay.
In a week when the Human Rights Commission’s Pacific Pay Gap inquiry revealed that Pacific men in New Zealand earn about 18% less than Pākehā men, and Pacific women earn 25% less, the success of the Adams siblings matters. They serve not just to refuel Pasifika pride in their community, but to remind New Zealand that Pasifika success here requires strength and patience to endure.
FOOTNOTE: CORRECTION: The fifth paragraph of this column has been corrected to remove the name of James Harden, who Adams did not play with. (Amended Oct 27, 4.10pm)