"I'm star struck, he was the main reason I wanted to play basketball," she said.
Ms Tuimana said being half Tongan like Adams and his sister, Olympic gold medallist shot putter Valerie Adams, the players were an inspiration.
"Basketball isn't really popular in New Zealand, but he's showing Kiwi kids that anything could happen."
Ms Tuimana plays in her school's under 17 basketball team and said her coach had told them to follow Adams.
"He inspires our whole team," she said.
Rotorua-born Adams said it was strange to be recognised on the street in his home country.
He'd tried wearing a hoodie and hunching himself over to disguise his height, but people still recognised him.
"I've learned to like it," he said.
His family still treated him the same when he was back home though: "Nothing's changed. I still go back home to my family and they treat me like crap."
