When the NBA Playoffs come around, the action always intensifies. Every loss brings a team closer to elimination, the stakes are high, and the pressure is on. With that in mind, then-rookie Steven Adams anticipated a no-holds-barred battle with San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan in the 2014 Western Conference Finals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder was a team on the rise. Led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the Thunder was looking to make their mark at the expense of the veteran Spurs. However, “The Big Kiwi” shared that TD had none of that.
Steven Adams: Subtle Trash Talk
TD was a quiet superstar. Despite his iconic status and a long list of accolades, he mostly kept to himself and his team, rarely showing emotion or engaging in trash talk. Steven Adams, however, was convinced that the intense competition would elicit a response from “The Big Fundamental.” To his surprise, Duncan remained composed and showed no signs of being affected by the young center’s attempts at mind games.
“His trash talk was amazing. Amazing because there was none of it,” the 6-foot-11 center shared in his book entitled Steven Adams: My Life, My Fight.
The former Pittsburgh star was anticipating TD would show him up with some veteran verbal jabs, but instead, he was met with nice pleasantries.
“I was ready for some veteran, aged-like-fine-wine insults. Instead he looked at me and asked how I was doing and said something about it being my first playoffs. I was shocked and didn’t really know how to respond to such a nice guy,” Steven Adams shared.
Don’t Mistake Kindness for Weakness
However, don’t mistake Duncan’s politeness for weakness. As Steven Adams quickly learned, the quiet and unassuming Tim was anything but friendly when competing.
“He turned around and scored 27 points on us,” Steven Adams added. The five-time NBA champ shot 11-for-19 from the field and had seven rebounds and three assists in the Spurs’ 122-105 Game 1 win.
Timmy’s performance was an eye-opener for Adams, who even figured he could make a difference against the 15-time All-Star, who was already 38 years old then.
“I even figured I just might be able to get an edge on him since I was 20 and he was 38. Surely, I could use my size and speed to shut him down,” Adams remarked.
As the then-Thunder center quickly learned, veteran savvy trumped youthful exuberance every time.
“That’s the thing with legends. They don’t need to be the fastest and strongest. Timmy knew exactly where to be and how to plant, and what angles to use to make my size and strength ineffective. You can’t shut someone down if you have no idea what they’re doing,” Steven stressed.
The Spurs eventually defeated the Thunder, 4-2, and went on to trump the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, 4-1.
In the heat of the playoffs, Steven Adams learned valuable lessons from a true NBA legend. Tim Duncan’s calm demeanor and exceptional skill left a lasting impression on the young center, teaching him that greatness is not always loud and brash, but often quiet and strategic.
