Steven Adams loves anime, and it’s given him an interesting form of support for the upcoming NBA All-Star Game. The Oklahoma City Thunder center is having the best season of his career, a professional run that’s basically seen his statistics rise every season in his six seasons.
Adams has become a force for the Thunder on a team that’s spearheaded by Paul George and Russell Westbrook but relies on the Kiwi’s presence under the hoop for rebounds and putbacks. Some feel that Adams should be rewarded for his good play with a spot in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game.
The problem, however, is that Adams plays in the often-crowded field that is the NBA’s Western Conference. But that’s not stopping a very dedicated fanbase of a different kind from trying to help Adams out. Anime streaming site Crunchyroll, essentially the Netflix of anime and manga, wants to help Steven Adams get voted into the All-Star game and is asking anime fans to vote for him before the fan voting deadline. Why? Because Adams is a huge anime fan.
Steven Adams is in the running for the NBA All-Star team!! 🏀 Vote for a fellow anime fan HERE: https://t.co/JEEW08uEA2 pic.twitter.com/TeWWFtSr0l
— Crunchyroll (@Crunchyroll) January 19, 2019
The video includes interviews Adams has given when he talks about anime, especially One Piece, a sprawling series about pirates. Adams famously mentioned he was watching that instead of Kevin Durant’s debut with the Golden State Warriors. Elsewhere in the video, he jokingly expressed his dislike of Rudy Gobert despite him wearing One Piece-inspired shoes.
There’s also some fan art of Adams in anime-style illustrations and some tweets he’s made about shows like One Piece, Naruto, and Hunter X Hunter. The video seems to have actually worked, too, which is good. Adams deserves some love for the season he’s having. Whether a bunch of anime fans can launch him into the game itself is an entirely different story, but it’s certainly a noble effort.
