Thunder's Adams encourages shy boy to join in during basketball camp

Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams' heart is just as large as his 7-foot, 255-pound frame.

Adams hosted a youth basketball camp in his hometown of Auckland, New Zealand earlier this week at the North Shore Events Centre, with Thunder teammates Nick Collison and Andre Roberson also present for the festivities.

One boy who made the trip with his father was too timid to join the other campers, remaining in the parking lot instead of taking part in the fun. Adams was made aware of this, rushed to the lot, and persuaded him to come inside to take a look.

The Bruise Brother then stayed with the boy as the two watched the other kids participate in basketball drills from a viewing area. Adams told him that he had nothing to fear, and that he'd be there every step of the way.

After some further convincing, the boy mustered up the courage to enter the fray, thanks in large part to the nurturing words of Adams.

"It's showing the kids that basketball is a fun sport to play, but also showing them that there's an opportunity there to use it as a vehicle if they wish to get a degree or something like that," Adams told Stuff.co's Marc Hinton about why he holds his camp in the area every year.

"It's about making sure we have some good foundations so as when my career ends it keeps going. That's all we're figuring out now, and a lot of people are working very hard at it. But it is our goal to make it huge."