Adams gets personal courtside

All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith tries to take on professional basketballer Steven Adams during a training clinic at Trusts Stadium, Henderson. Picture / Brett Phibbs

In his journey from teenage tearaway to NBA star, Steven Adams has accumulated a lot of wisdom for a guy just 21 years old.

Yesterday the towering 2.13m centre took time out from his off-season training with the Oklahoma City Thunder to share some of that wisdom with a group of New Zealand's top young athletes.

Adams joined a few All Blacks and their strength and conditioning trainer, Nic Gill, in Auckland to mentor 10 up-and-coming sportspeople in the Powerade Breakthrough Academy.

The piece of advice Adams hopes the group took away from the experience is a lesson he learned the hard way - "don't waste energy getting mad about things you can't control, focus on what you can control".

Rotorua-born Adams was just 13 when his father Sid, who was in his mid-70s, passed away. Without the direction and guidance of his father Adams lacked discipline and focus. It was the intervention of his older brother Warren that set Adams back on the right track. He invited the teenager to live with him in Wellington where he was introduced to his long-time mentor Kenny McFadden.

"When my Dad passed away I went through a phase when I got really mad at myself and other people, when it was something I couldn't control. So that is probably my biggest message - anger is a waste of energy," Adams said.

The Kiwi star said he finds it strange to be seen as a role model for young athletes.

"It is really weird, but most of the stuff I have to share with them ... it's stuff I picked up along the way from veterans and more experienced players that have given me their time and helped me out."

Joining Adams at the event at Trusts Stadium were All Blacks Liam Messam, Aaron Smith, Julian Savea and Tawera Kerr-Barlow.

Adams returns to the United States at the end of the week, but will be back next month to host a NZ Basketball Academy camp in Wellington.