Steven Adams took it easy over the NBA All Star break.
A career year had seen him talked about as an outside chance for the mid-season exhibition matchup, but his absence allowed him a short holiday instead.
Instead, he stayed at home, played Xbox with his brother who visited with his partner, and enjoyed some down time away from basketball.
"[My brother's] missus threw down a boil up, it was sick bro," Adams told The Project.
"She found watercress at one of the grocery stores - watercress! I was like what?"
It was a welcome taste of home for the Kiwi NBA star. He misses NZ, and even considered flying home for the break, but ultimately let his brother bring a little bit of NZ to him.
"I just wish the islands were a bit closer."
But while he's many miles from home, Adams feels right at home in Oklahoma City.
"The people here are really nice, and they remind me of people back home."
And they’ve taken to their Kiwi centre. In quiet OKC, the Thunder play a big part in the mood of the city. Thankfully, they’ve made the playoffs eight of the past nine seasons, and are expected to go deep into the postseason this year, too.
"When we played in New York, the fans there were booing their own team, that'll never happen here. Never."
Instead, a city that can't claim LA's Hollywood, New York's Broadway or Miami's beaches as attractions makes sure what it can control are performed to the highest order. The Thunder organisation and the city make it a fun, and easy, place to play.
"If I wasn't comfortable, that'd be another thing I had to deal with on top of this really hard job. Now I can just focus on the really hard job."
Expectations are high for the Thunder this year. They currently sit third in the Western Conference and will hope to go deep in the playoffs after a first round exit a year ago.
"Honestly, I have no idea about what sort of hype there is out there."
But he does know exactly how well the Thunder are playing as a team this year, with all of the role players doing their jobs admirably around superstars Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
"That’s what's nice - people know what they have to do. They ain't trying to do too much.
"If we think about it properly, whether you're happy or not with what you're doing, it shouldn't matter. We have a goal, and so we just have to do it, and everyone is on that sort of mindset.
"It's rare that you come across that in the league."
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