When basketball star Steven Adams and girlfriend Kayla Kiriau first met in New Zealand, their love tale began. Steven Adams plays for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Originally from New Zealand, the two people’s paths crossed in the gymnasiums, forging a friendship that went beyond simple sports companionship.
It’s still unclear how exactly they met, but there’s little doubting that their mutual appreciation of each other’s athletic prowess led to the development of a close emotional attachment.
Cleverly nurtured out of sight from the public, their friendship went far beyond romanticism to represent a supporting alliance based on their experiences as professional athletes.
Meet Steven Adams’ girlfriend Kayla Kiriau
Kayla Kiriau, the girlfriend of NBA star Steven, was born in New Zealand on June 15, 1993. She showed an interest in basketball from a young age. It should come as no surprise that she became engrossed in the realm of athletics given her sports-loving upbringing.
Her basketball prowess soon attracted notice, and she soon found herself traveling abroad to play on the courts of Sheridan College and, eventually, Point Park University.
Sheridan College provided the foundation, but Point Park University was where her true genius emerged. She is Point Park University’s point guard. Her leadership qualities and court vision made her an invaluable component of the team.
She is well-known for her charming demeanor, kind disposition, and sincere enthusiasm for community involvement even outside of the spotlight.
Steven Adams has a large family — A look at his early life
On July 20, 1993, Steven was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, to Sid Adams, an Englishman, and a Tongan mother. After serving as a veteran of the Royal Navy from Bristol, his father moved to New Zealand and fathered eighteen children with five different women.
While his sister, Gabriella Adams-Gavet, happily represented the New Zealand national basketball team, his brothers, Warren and Sid Jr., made their way into the New Zealand National Basketball League.
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But when their father unexpectedly passed away at the age of 13 from stomach cancer, it created a huge vacuum in Steven’s life.
Steven has recognized the loss of parental supervision throughout his adolescent years and cited his father’s passing as a pivotal event in his life.
Following the incident, Blossom Cameron took on formal guardianship after realizing Steven’s potential and saving him from Rotorua’s streets. Basketball great Kenny McFadden and Cameron both played important roles in Steven’s life by providing direction and mentoring.
Steven sought comfort and support from his extended family as well as mentors like Cameron and McFadden, despite the difficulties he faced due to the death of his father at an early age.
Cameron enrolled him at Wellington’s Scots College, while McFadden welcomed him to his basketball academy. He improved both academically and as a basketball player under McFadden’s tutelage, eventually earning his Scots diploma in December 2011.
Steven Adams went to Notre Dame Preparatory School
After graduating from Scots College in December 2011, Steven spent one semester as a student at the premier basketball prep school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, called Notre Dame Preparatory School.
The purpose of the arrangement was to provide him some time to adjust to basketball in the United States before he enrolled at Pittsburgh in June of 2012.
He was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team and won Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year during his one and only season at Pittsburgh.
He started all 32 games during the 2012–13 campaign, averaging 7.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game in the process. He forfeited his remaining three years of NCAA eligibility when he declared for the NBA draft in April 2013.
Steven Adams first joined NBL before his 2013 NBA draft
With the Wellington Saints of the National Basketball League (NBL) in New Zealand, Steven began his career as a professional basketball player in 2011. In 15 games, he averaged 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
He played unpaid in order to keep his college eligibility, but he had a big impact and won the New Zealand NBL Rookie of the Year award, which helped the Saints win the title in the end.
The Oklahoma City Thunder chose Steven with the 12th overall choice in the 2013 NBA Draft. His NBA career began with a bang as he had an unforgettable debut in October 2013 and won accolades for his play all season long.
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His achievements were especially noteworthy during the postseason, as he was instrumental in leading the Thunder to the Western Conference Finals. He inked a significant contract deal worth $100 million for four years in 2016.
After being moved to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2020, Steven started a new chapter in his career. He had a season-high 15 points on March 4, 2021, in a 103–93 loss to the Miami Heat.
He signed a contract extension with the Memphis Grizzlies in October 2022 after making an impressive impact during his time there in August 2021. Sadly, he had a setback to his trip in January 2023 when he had a right knee injury that prevented him from playing in the rest of the regular season or the playoffs.
