Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams got a shoutout on an Arkansas TV station Monday.
Chicago Bulls center Daniel Gafford, who played at the University of Arkansas, was asked by THV11 CBS who his toughest matchup was in his rookie year in the NBA.
After a long thought, he went with Steven Adams.
“It’s like trying to move a building,” Gafford said.
Gafford started against Adams and the Thunder on Feb. 25. In that game, he played a little more than 14 minutes and had six points, four rebounds and three fouls.
Adams finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks and steals apiece in a little more than 28 minutes.
Oklahoma City won that game 124-122.
The Bulls picked Gafford in the second round of the 2019 draft. Listed at 6-foot-10 and 234 pounds, he was about 30 pounds lighter than Adams.
Gafford said Adams would be the toughest if he was going just by the center position. If considering positions other than center, the other player who gave him the most trouble was Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo seems to give everyone fits.
Gafford averaged five points in 14 minutes per game as a rookie.
Adams averaged 10.9 points this season, his lowest since 2015-16, but his 2.4 assists were a career-high and his 9.4 rebounds were on par with last season’s career-high of 9.5 per game.
