New York, NY – December 25, 2013 – Madison Square Garden: Steven Adams (12) of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Iman Shumpert (21) New York Knicks during a regular season game
(Photo by Ben Solomon / ESPN Images)
Steven Adams — lovable, charismatic big man for the Oklahoma City Thunder — isn’t really that much of a fantasy sports fan.
“I’m not a sports guy, mate, just more games,” Adams told TMZ. “I’m more of a nerd.”
Adams’ favorite genre of video game seems to be that of the multiplayer, online battle arena variety — he cites Dota 2 and Smite as the games atop his “favorite video game” list.
Adams went on to acknowledge that he’s very interested when it comes to watching ELEAGUE, one of the most prestigious gaming leagues in the world that can be seen on TBS, Twitch. and YouTube.
“That’s my stuff,” Adams said of ELEAGUE.
But he is reticent to say whether or not he would want to compete in professional gaming in the future.
“No, I’m not that good [at video games], mate,” Adams said. “Never was.”
But Rick Fox — three-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers who now owns Echo Fox, a professional esports organization — is on board with the idea.
“Yeah, I’ll talk to [Adams],” Fox told TMZ. “I can get him to the right people, I can get him in touch with the pros.”
When asked whether or not Adams could make the full transition, Fox was confident that it was possible because Gordon Hayward — notable League of Legends fanatic and wing for the Boston Celtics — had done so in the past.
“Gordon Hayward did it,” Fox said. “[He’s] massively legit [at video games].”
Fox went on to joke that Hayward was tied up in his decision between the Celtics and Utah Jazz this offseason because Fox simultaneously sent him an esports contract.
In fact, Hayward’s last tweet on the day of his free agency announcement was a retweet of a FIFA tournament hosted by English football club Manchester City.
