Steven Adams was born on July 20 in 1993 in Rotorua, New Zealand, to a Tongan mother and an English father. His father, Sid Adams, served in the Royal Navy and later settled in New Zealand where he fathered 18 children with five women.Sid Adams stood 6 ft 11 inches tall, and his children inherited his height: Steven Adams' brothers average 6 ft 9 inches tall, while his sisters average 6 ft 0 inches. His half-sister, Valerie Adams, is a dual Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion shot-putter,while his brothers, Warren and Sid Jr., had careers in the New Zealand National Basketball League.Sid Adams was in his sixties when his youngest child Steven was born, and he died in 2006 of stomach cancer. Adams has identified his father's death as one of the defining events of his life. In a 2012 interview, Adams recalled:When I lost my dad, that was a big hit for me. I didn't have that parental guidance, and I kind of took advantage of it because I was a stupid idiot. I decided not to go to school a couple of times, go when I felt like it. I always lied to my brothers and sisters. They'd ask: 'Are you going to school?' I'd say 'yeah'. They eventually found out.After graduating from Scots College in December 2011, Adams enrolled at Notre Dame Preparatory School, a well-known basketball prep school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, for one semester. It was arranged only so he could acclimate himself to American basketball before enrolling at Pittsburgh in June 2012. In his lone season at Pittsburgh, Adams was named the Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year and earned Big East All-Rookie Team honours. He started all 32 games during the 2012–13 season and averaged 7.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.On 2 April 2013, Adams declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.On 27 June 2013, Adams was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, becoming the first New Zealander to be selected in the first round of an NBA draft. He also became the first player out of Pittsburgh to be selected in the first round since 1999 when Vonteego Cummings was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 26th overall pick. On 12 July 2013, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Thunder. In his NBA debut on 30 October 2013, Adams recorded two points, three rebounds, one assist and three fouls in 18½ minutes off the bench against the Utah Jazz. On 8 November, in just his fifth NBA game, Adams recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 119–110 win over the Detroit Pistons. He failed to surpass either mark for the rest of the regular season.He appeared in 81 games (20 starts) and averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds (9th among NBA rookies) and 0.70 blocks (9th among NBA Rookies) in 14.8 minutes. In Game 6 of the Thunder's second round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Adams recorded 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. The Thunder reached the Western Conference Finals, where they were defeated by the San Antonio Spurs in six games. At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Adams earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honours. On 31 October 2016, Adams signed a four-year, $100 million contract extension with the Thunder.On 1 December 2017, Adams scored a career-high 27 points on perfect shooting from the field and the free throw line to help the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 111–107. On 2 February 2018, he had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 114–100 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, reaching 3,000 career points.On 8 October 2019, Adams made his first NBA career 3 point shot in a pre-season game against the Dallas Mavericks. Off an assist from Thunder teammate Chris Paul, the corner three point shot gave the Thunder their first three points of the game, and of the 2019-20 NBA season.