Adams says 'lonely, painful years' nearly caused him to quit basketball

On the surface, Steven Adams doesn't appear to share much in common with the average man. He's seven-feet tall, heavily bearded, and is decked out in tattoos, making the New Zealander look more like a comic-book villain than the starting center for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And yet Adams' path to the NBA has been decidedly more human than his out-sized image suggests. In fact, the initial loneliness of the stateside journey nearly pushed him to give up on his hoop dreams.

"In those first few months at Pitt, I thought seriously about chucking it all in, quitting America and going home to New Zealand where I was more comfortable," Adams writes in his memoir, "Steven Adams: My Life, My Fight," according to the New Zealand Herald.

Basketball gave Adams a purpose, especially after the death of his father when the future Thunder standout was 13. But the combination of distance from his family back in New Zealand and difficulty with adjusting to life both on and off the court almost proved unbearable.

"It's not easy being completely alone in a new school as well as a new country," Adams explained. "The usual advice to make friends and create a family didn't work for me. I got through it with sheer determination and the knowledge that it wasn't forever. If it would get me to a career in basketball, I was willing to put up with some lonely, painful years.

"The moment I stop enjoying basketball, I'll quit. Things were heading that way when I was at Pitt, and if there was one thing I knew, it was that I had to leave before it ruined the game for me forever."

So far, Adams has pushed through. Since being selected No. 12 overall in the 2013 draft, the "Big Kiwi" has slowly blossomed into one of the NBA's most intimidating interior forces. Over the past two seasons, the 25-year-old has averaged 12.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and one block per game.