At this point, Steven Adams’ reputation in the NBA is one of a great dude you do not want to eff with, and this latest story only adds to that.
Paul George, Steve’s former teammate on the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder, called Steve “one of the best people in the world” before sharing some wild stories about him.
During one game, OKC needed to stop the game but didn’t have any means to do it. So, Steve decided to scratch himself until he was bleeding, that way the refs would have to call a medical timeout. Smart fella.
“We was playing late in the game,” George, who finished third in MVP voting when on OKC, shared on his podcast Podcast P. “We needed a timeout but we didn’t have any.”
“So I’m looking at Steve and he’s doing this - scratching his face hard as f*ck. I’m like ‘Steve, what you doing?’. He’s like ‘oh mate, we don’t have a timeout, I’m tryna bleed.”
“I respect it,” George added before he and his guest Jaren Jackson Jr (JJJ) (a current teammate of Steve on the Memphis Grizzlies) shared more stories about Steve’s toughness.
“The dude’s a warrior,” said George. “He’ll get hit and be like ‘oh, it’s fine’... he’s one of the best teammates.”
“‘Just twisted my ankle a little bit’,” JJJ added, imitating Steve. “‘Just broke my leg, it’s fine’."
“He goes down as one of my favourite teammates,” George said to finish the segment. “Just a great human being.”
When asked to share a story about Steve, JJJ revealed that his workout routine is nuts compared to other NBA players, as he does it all himself.
“You know how everyone has trainers and their own programs? This man works out himself, he trains himself, he rehabs himself, he lifts himself. People just watch him lift. People help me but I just see people looking at him like he is at the zoo.”
This last story from JJJ directly conflicts with George saying Steve "does not lift weights" earlier this year, but who cares? It just adds to the mystique, aura and mythology of the one and only Steven Adams.
