※ 引述《thnlkj0665 (灰色地带)》之铭言：
姊姊将出征奥运赛场 亚当斯表示绝对紧盯赛况
记者陈元廷／综合外电报导
“我当然会密切关切瓦莱丽赛况，我另一个姊姊莉莎也有参加帕奥，所以她们两个比赛我
肯定不会错过”，亚当斯说，他之前也曾经透露从姊姊身上学到努力重要，“我自认很努
力，很多人也觉得我很认真，但瓦莱丽勤奋程度完全是不同等级的”。
推 KirkSynder : 鸭蛋是不是没有打过新西兰国家队他好像是目前仅存的 07/20 15:15
→ KirkSynder : 新西兰籍NBA球员看到姐姐为国出征他都不会心动吗还 07/20 15:15
→ KirkSynder : 是有什么原因不想参加国家队 07/20 15:15
推 Picklerick : 回K大 新西兰篮球国家队今年因为疫情考量退出奥运入 07/20 19:55
感谢p大回复，印象中Steven Adams进入nba以来似乎都没披上新西兰国家队战袍过，
而且通常都是表示要备战下一季所以不克出赛，所以google了一下，发现一篇文章
https://bit.ly/3zhvM0t
https://www.foxsports.com.au/basketball/nba-star-steven-adams-explains-why-h
先讲结论
小亚当本来是国家青年队的成员，但是因为财政因素，所以球员得自费打球。
但是年青的小亚当没钱，所以只能黯然退出…(不是，这怎么好像比我们还扯，
新西兰也不是什么穷困的国家吧?)
以下简略翻译
水行侠解释为何不打新西兰国家队
NBA star Steven Adams explains why he has snubbed New Zealand’s national team
foxsports.com.au
亚当解释为何至今尚未披上国家队战袍。在他的新书我的奋斗(误)中，首次深入回应
了为何至今对国家队的征召给软钉子
新西兰先锋报刊出一篇报导 (报导连结 https://bit.ly/3wS7poz)
引述小亚当的教练Kenny McFadden说“他没钱可以自费帮
国家打球，所以就不打了”而这个事件激怒了小亚当。而现在水行侠的第一要务是好
好增入球技，帮助雷霆明年有更好的成绩。
亚当回忆起不能在教练麾下为国出征的往事，“我没钱啊，要代表国家青年队要自费
，不只是篮球，所有的运动项目都一样，为国出征要花上数以千元啊”
有些球员各种赛事都能够参加，特别是有钱人家的小孩，但是有些则否，特别是那些
棕色皮肤的人，其中不乏表现最好的。我每次一想到那些曾经和我并肩作战的杰出战
友，理应有着光明灿烂的未来，如果当初他们能够获得一点援手，这实在太令人不爽
了。
水行侠表示未来有一天他会愿意披上国家队的战袍，但是现在的他对雷霆队有更多的
责任与义务，比起对国家队。我很喜欢国家队教练Paul Henare，我也愿意为他打球
但是现在的我没时间。
有些人可能认为我是新西兰的篮球宠儿，享尽各种资源。完全反了，我是努力挣扎才
能有出头日，在我们那边，你得要倾全村之力才能培养你打球，如果想要出国比赛，
全村的人又要召集起来努力筹钱才办得到。没有他们，我办不到。kenny教练日复一日
地努力栽培球员，我们都很感激有他。球员一路走来总是需要贵人的帮忙，而大部份
的贵人甚至不求回报，而我也想成为那样的人，现在我算是有点钱和名气，我会好好
发挥最大效益帮助更多的人。如果小家伙们努力奋斗需要指点，我来；如果小球员没
钱买装备或是出不起旅费，我出。
我们新西兰不是没人，但是需要系统性的帮助小球员走向正确的道路，让他们不会只
是因为生在穷乡僻壤的没钱家庭就失去了机会，如果让我来的话，我想新西兰在我有
生之年必会成为篮球强国，这是我最想做到的
KIWI NBA star Steven Adams has revealed why he is yet to pull on the Tall
Blacks singlet.
In his autobiography Steven Adams: My Life, My Fight, Adams has delved
in-depth for the first time on why he has snubbed New Zealand’s national
basketball team.
Adams confirmed a report by the NZ Herald earlier this month, which outlined
that Adams held a grudge against Basketball New Zealand for not being able to
financially support him at a young age.
Adams’ mentor Kenny McFadden said that when his young charge wanted to play
for New Zealand, “he got no money and couldn’t play”.
McFadden said it was a snub which had irked then teenaged Adams.
He said the NBA star now felt more obligated to the Oklahoma City Thunder,
where Adams’ priorities were to be the best player he could be and help
contribute to a successful 2018-19 season.
Now, Adams has elaborated on the reasons for not joining the Tall Blacks,
recalling the time that he couldn’t link up with McFadden’s Junior Tall
Blacks side.
“I couldn’t afford it. To represent New Zealand as a young athlete costs a
lot of money, not just in basketball but in all sports. Being selected for an
age-group national side to play in an international tournament would cost
each player thousands of dollars,” Adams said.
“I knew of players who went on every trip, at least once a year, because
their parents could easily afford to play for each tournament. But there were
a lot of players, most of them brown, some of them the best in the country,
who never once represented New Zealand because they couldn’t afford to
trial, let alone to fly overseas. I hate to think how many guys I played with
could have had careers in basketball if they’d just been given more help
(like I was) when they were younger.”
Steven Adams is yet to represent his country.Source: AFP
Adams says he will play for the Tall Blacks “some day”, but says that many
people don’t understand his position, stressing that he has more loyalty to
his Thunder side in the NBA than he does to the Tall Blacks.
“In most sports, representing New Zealand in a black singlet is the peak.
Athletics, netball, rowing … But there are some sports, such as soccer,
tennis and basketball, where playing overseas is the ultimate goal. That’s
the pinnacle of those sports,” Adams said.
“Yes, I would love to represent New Zealand by playing for the Tall Blacks,
but right now I don’t feel I have time to give it my best and play a full
NBA season. It probably doesn’t help that I don’t feel a great sense of
loyalty to Basketball New Zealand. I like what the current Tall Blacks coach,
Paul Henare, has been doing with the team and I would love to play for him at
some point, but I need to be ready.
“Some might expect me to be the Basketball New Zealand poster child, but I
did the opposite of rising through the ranks of the junior national teams.
Being in a national team is far too expensive for most kids — me included.
“It takes a village to raise a child, apparently. And it takes a village to
fundraise for one too. New Zealand does best when everyone is invested. I had
my own little community of helpers who pushed me towards my passion, but that
’s not a cost-effective approach. Kenny still takes every morning training,
like he has for over a decade, and I know there will be plenty more
basketballers thanking him for their success in years to come. But, for now,
his project from 2008 has one focus and that focus is the Thunder and the NBA.
”
Steven Adams feels let down by New Zealand.Source: Twitter
Now, Adams wants to give back to young basketballers who are in the same
situation he found himself in earlier in his career.
“Paying it forward is what I like doing. Giving a leg-up to people who are
doing everything they can but could do with some support. There’s not a
single successful person who didn’t get help from a bunch of people along
the way,” Adams said.
“But I know that most of the people who helped me did so because they wanted
to, not because they thought they might be rewarded later. Now I want to be
that person for a bunch of other kids. It’s human nature to help others, and
now that I have money and some influence, I want to use it to help as many
people as possible.
“If I can see that kids are fighting and trying to be better, I’ll do
whatever I can to help them along. When a young player needs new shoes or can
’t afford stationery or a basketball trip, that’s when I’m willing to
spend my money.
“We have the talent in New Zealand, there’s no doubt about that, we just
need the systems and pathways in place so that kids can stay on track and not
lose out because they’re poor or live in the wrong city.
“If I have my way, New Zealand will be a basketball nation among the best in
the world before I die. That’s the kind of legacy I want to help build.”
This article first appeared in the NZ Herald and was republished with
permission
foxsports.com.au