NBA: Ranking all 30 starting centers for 2018-19

8. Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder

He may not ever post the numbers deserving of his stature, but Steven Adams was already the third member of the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Big 3 before Carmelo Anthony left town. The raw stat line doesn’t back it up, but the big Kiwi enjoyed a career year in 2017-18.

In his fifth NBA season, Adams put up 13.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game on 62.9 percent shooting. With the exception of blocks, those were all career bests.

With Melo gone, the ball should move a bit more in Paul George‘s second season with the team. Adams will never be a go-to option on offense as long as Russell Westbrook and PG-13 are around, but with Russ and Dennis Schroder feeding him, Adam’s offensive impact could blossom. Even if that doesn’t happen, his spine-shattering screens, hard-nosed defense and underrated passing will be as noteworthy as ever.