Anonymous player poll: Steven Adams near top among NBA’s toughest players

Though he’s officially been with the Houston Rockets since early February, veteran center Steven Adams won’t suit up for the team until this fall. He missed the entire 2023-24 NBA season after undergoing surgery for a lingering knee injury last October.

But when the 30-year-old does return, he’ll bring quite a reputation with him. In The Athletic’s latest anonymous player poll, Adams finished second (16.8%) in the league on the question of “Which NBA player would you least like to fight?,” trailing only Indiana’s James Johnson (53.6%). In all, 125 current players answered the question.

“He knows all the MMA [mixed martial arts] stuff, and he can get you in a chokehold real quick,” one Adams voter said, as relayed by Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “He’ll be nice with it, but he’ll choke you out and be like, ‘It’s okay, buddy.’”

Veteran center Boban Marjanovic, who played the last two seasons in Houston, also received a few votes (2.4%) on the same question.

The complete poll can be read here. As for Adams and the Rockets, he’s currently slated to be the backup center to Alperen Sengun — and a defensive complement — for the 2024-25 season.

Story originally appeared on Rockets Wire