Steven Adams doesn't pay attention to Australia, mate

Steven Adams likes to stay in his lane.

The Oklahoma City Thunder center has thrived by honing his set of specialized skills - setting vicious screens, rolling hard to the rim, asserting his physical authority under the hoop, and making smart passes from the elbows - and not trying to do too much.

He's also proven blissfully unfazed by circumstances beyond his control. Adams said that when he found out Kevin Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors, his reaction was, "like, 'OK, whatever.' And then I read it in the Players Tribune, or whatever it's called."

Another thing to which Adams apparently doesn't give much thought: The neighbor to his native New Zealand.

Whether or not Adams is paying attention, Australia has emerged as a rising basketball power, ranking fourth among non-U.S. nations with eight players on NBA rosters in 2016-17. They also finished just off the podium at the Rio Olympics this past summer, losing to Spain by one point in the bronze-medal game.

Adams is just the fourth New Zealand-born man to play in the NBA, after Sean Marks (now the Brooklyn Nets' general manager), Kirk Penney, and Detroit Pistons center Aron Baynes - who is an Australian citizen.