Written for nbl.com.au by Tom Hersz

Life doesn’t always go to plan.

Not many know that better than Josh Adams. The first ever Tasmania JackJumpers import, who is currently completing his 14-days quarantine in Sydney, almost lost his dream of becoming a professional basketball player.

In August of 2016, Adams dozed off while driving home one night. His car veered into a ditch and then became airborne up and over a service road before finally crashing down. He shattered and dislocated his sternum and fractured his C5 and C6 vertebrae in his cerebral spine. He was lucky to be alive.

After a standout senior year at Wyoming and a stint with the Denver Nuggets at the 2016 NBA Summer League, Adams had signed with Avtodor Saratov in Russia’s VTB League just a couple of weeks before the accident.

Playing that season, and possibly playing as a professional at all, was in serious doubt.

“I don’t want to say that my immediate reaction was planning for a life without basketball, because I’m a stubborn, fiery person,” Adams told NBL Media from hotel quarantine in Sydney on Saturday.

“But, throughout that process, especially early on once I got home and realised I really couldn’t move or do anything; I had to have help with everything and just the pain that I was in, it slowly started to set in that I might have to think about – maybe not a life without basketball, but a different career pathway cos basketball wasn’t going to be a professional option for me.

“But, by the grace of god and a lot of hard work and support from family and friends, we made it through. But, in that five month recovery process, I’d be lying if I told you that for the majority [of it] – I didn’t think that I was going to be able to play professionally at least.”

He certainly had to re-assess his future. Would he be able to play again? Would his athleticism return? Would he be able to strengthen his body enough to still pursue a professional career? A lot to contend with mentally at that moment.

But as Adams said, he’s a stubborn person. He began his recovery and started working out with a trainer. It was a slow process initially.

“We started working out; I had a trainer and I was able to just sit in a chair essentially and work on ball-handling,” Adams explained.

“But against the advice of both him and the doctors and probably my better conscious thought, I threw down a dunk with the encouragement of kids at a camp that we were working about four months post-surgery.

“So, at that point Avtodor Saratov – I’m so grateful to that organisation, small city in Russia, but they held my contract and held that spot for me [for] whenever I was ready. Once they hit me up with that information, and then that kind of turning point when I realised I still have my legs with me, I started to believe and feel in my heart that I had a chance to come back and do something.”

And that’s exactly what Adams did. In January 2017 he made his pro debut, just over five months after his accident. He scored 15 points in only his second game and was on his way.

Since that first season in Russia, Adams has gone on to play across some of the best leagues in Europe. He’s played in Turkey, Spain and Italy, as well as one season in China’s CBA and one season in the G League.

He’s developed into a very productive combo guard who plays with incredible energy on both ends of the floor. Adams has no doubt that having to overcome the adversity he faced from that car accident, has helped him carve out a successful pro career.

“Oh absolutely,” he confirmed.

“There are so many things that I think general people and fans don’t understand about the professional game of basketball; there’s a lot of stuff that goes into it. Outside of personal skill, there’s politics, different coaches have different roles in mind for you, and being able to go through that experience where I had to adapt my entire life, kind of trained me for the difficulties that come along with playing professional basketball overseas.

“So, I think that was really a teaching moment in my life, on and off the court. But basketball wise, just learning to work through adversity, be adaptable and have that never die attitude.”

Still, as much as that attitude has shaped who Adams is today, it’s not something he thinks about too often anymore.

Aside from the large scar on his forehead that is an unavoidable daily reminder of what he overcame and the occasional pain or soreness he still sometimes gets in his neck if he doesn’t sleep properly for example, Adams tries to focus his attention on where he is now.

He does tend to reflect on that experience when facing a tough moment or some form of adversity though.

“The times, like I said that I feel myself reflecting on it the most are in those moments of adversity and that’s kind of what keeps me going,” said Adams.

“If it’s a tough situation in Europe or maybe a tough day mentally – whatever it may be, I’m able to say ‘Hey man, stop. Take a breath. If you can overcome that, there’s really not much that you can’t get through.’

“So, it’s in those moments that I really find myself reflecting on it, but as far as day to day, I just thank god every day for a new day. And that’s kind of a mindset that came to me after that accident.

“Just take it a day at a time and be where your feet are.”

Adams has certainly made the most of his experiences across the various leagues he’s played in, and he’s been fortunate to play with some great players along the way.

Milos Teodosic and Marco Belinelli in Italy, Luis Scola in China and our own Brock Motum with Anadolu Efes in Turkey, just to name a few. Adams even teamed with Cam Gliddon briefly with Avtodor Saratov.

He’s certainly made a conscious effort to soak up as much as he can from each of those stops and from many of those teammates.

“There are so many lessons,” Adams acknowledged.

“I’ve played with so many great players outside of the famous names too, but each one of them just brings something completely unique and special to the game, especially with their thought process.

“There’re certain things that you can’t hope to take from somebody. For example, I couldn’t hope to take the passing of Milos Teodosic; that’s just spectacular, that’s something that you can’t train. That’s like saying Josh taught me how to jump, you know? There are some things you can’t teach.

“But, just watching him play and listening to the way he commands the floor and learning how he sees the game is just completely unique, and that’s a guy that I learned a ton from. That in accordance with his complete ability to block out the fan hate or people trying to cut him down, or if he has a terrible game, just his ability to say ‘screw it, onto the next one’, fifteen minutes after the game, was just something incredible to watch.

“Luis Scola, the way this guy takes care of his body and the amount of time that he spends in the weight room and on his health is remarkable, and that’s what has allowed him to play well into his forties.

“Brock Motum bringing that laid back Australian lifestyle. Nothing ever really rattled him and same thing with Milos. Anything that happened, [Brock] was just like ‘whatever, onto the next.’ I think that has propelled him into an incredible career on and off the court. He’s an incredible person off the court.

“I could go on down the list. I would just say that people’s different backgrounds and locations where they learned basketball, it’s interesting to see how different cultures think about the game.”

That global nature of basketball is certainly something that Adams has embraced. And now he’s come to play in another new part of the world, where he’ll be part of the JackJumpers inaugural roster and try to establish a winning culture.

But before he can do that, Adams has to complete his hotel quarantine. While many struggle with that process, it’s nothing new for him. And he’s handling it pretty well for the most part because he’s done it before.

“I’m a pretty solitary guy, a laid-back guy, so for the first chunk of time I’m fine,” explained Adams.

“I’ve got my video games, I’ve got my books, my bible study. A little rest and recovery. But as it drags on, you get the same food every day, you’re seeing the same four walls, it certainly gets tiring. I’m in Sydney for the first time and my view is spectacular of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and just not being able to go out there and experience it is really difficult.

“But, I spent almost 80 days in quarantine in Spain during the crisis when it first broke out, then when I went to Italy, my first two weeks I had to quarantine and they were in red zone the entire year, so couldn’t really go outside there. Now I’m back here in quarantine, so it’s almost become a routine for me unfortunately. Just trying to keep a positive mindset and take it day by day.”

When Adams emerges from his hotel room and travels down to Hobart, there’s no doubt what he’s looking forward to the most.

“Getting on the court,” he beamed.

“I can say for sure, this is the most excited I’ve been to get on the court in some years now. I’ve been in some really tough situations basketball wise that have hindered my passion for it. I wouldn’t say I’ve lost my love for it, but hindered my excitement for the game and this is the first time in a while that I’ve been really itching to get out on the court.

“And I’ve heard Hobart’s a very beautiful city, so I’m excited to just get my first taste of Australia.”

That taste of Australia is something that has been in the works for a while. Adams has been on NBL radars in years’ past with a couple of teams having tried to recruit him unsuccessfully.

At those moments, it wasn’t the right time for him. He had better offers and seemingly better situations in terms of where his career was at that beat out those NBL opportunities. However, Australia has always been somewhere he’s been interested in coming to.

“I played with guys like Nate Sobey in College, my brother played with four guys from Australia and I played with Mitch Creek in Dallas,” Adams said.

“Just fantastic guys that raved not only about the country, the quality of life, but the basketball league as well. And just seeing all the guys that are being brought over to the USA to play in the NBA and the Next Stars situation they’ve got here; it’s just a growing game here and I think that’s evident with what the Boomers did in the Olympics this year.

“So, it’s always piqued my interest and then Coach Roth sold me on his vision for an expansion team. It’s a brand new club so I’m excited to be a part of it.”

JackJumpers and NBL fans should be excited too. Adams is a very high-quality import and the fact that NBL teams have been chasing him in past seasons says a lot. But it’s where his game is at now that really appealed to Roth.

His game is explosive. He’s lightning fast, super athletic, strong and plays with a ton of energy. He’s going to make a lot of highlight reel plays, but if you look beyond those moments, what you’ll see is a very smart, experienced guard with multiple facets to his game.

At his best, he can score, create, rebound and defend. In his sole G League season, Adams averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1 steal, while hitting 37% from long range for Raptors 905.

His game has evolved over the years too. Many will point to the more consistent shooting from long range as a big area he’s developed as a pro. Adams acknowledges that but sees an even bigger area of development that has allowed him to succeed in conjunction with the improved shooting.

“It’s really slowed down,” Adams explained.

“Playing with guys like Milos Teodosic just have helped me slow the game down and realise that sometimes the slower I go, the faster I can be. I’m a little bit less effective if I’m going full throttle at all times, so being able to slow down and also add a jump shot to my game has been a really, really big piece. If you can’t shoot the ball these days, you’re going to be in trouble, so I think those things have been my biggest improvements.”

He’s also excited at what the JackJumpers back court will look like. Teaming with Josh Magette, who Scott Roth likened to John Stockton in terms of the way he plays should make for a really nice complement to Adams’ game. Magette is the ultimate pass-first point guard and Adams is certainly looking forward to running alongside him.

“Absolutely. I watched Josh play in the G League when I was with Raptors 905,” said Adams of Magette.

“He was lighting it up that year; just an incredible player. I love watching him play. I think it’s unique that he’s a left-handed guy too – it makes him very difficult to guard. And his passing is just unreal.

“And I think one of my biggest complications in Europe was that they tried to slot me into two different positions. Either I’m all two-guard or I’m all point guard, and I’m really a combo guard and I’ve never denied that.

“The fact that I’m going to be able to get the ball and get out in transition, push the flow, attack the rim and be myself really, but then the majority of the game we’re going to have a guy like Josh who’s used to being in the point guard spot, commanding the floor, setting stuff up and creating for other people, I think we can really feed off each other in those ways, so I’m excited. Very excited.”

The other import coming to Tasmania is someone that Adams is familiar with. MiKyle McIntosh and Adams were teammates with Raptors 905 in the G League in 2018-19. Having an established rapport is certainly going to help, especially on a brand new team where nearly everyone has to learn to play with each other.

“I think it’s going to help a lot,” Adams acknowledge.

“MiKyle is a very outgoing, funny, team guy, but when he gets on the court, he’s a dog; he’s a warrior. So, I think that being able to have that chemistry off the court where he’s cracking jokes and makes everybody feel involved is just a great, outspoken guy, kind of breaks the awkwardness of a new team. But, on the court when the guys see how he backs everybody up and how he fights for everybody, he’s just going to build that camaraderie even more.”

Adams has a lot to look forward to when he finally arrives in Hobart and gets to work with Roth and his new teammates. He thinks the NBL is going to be a great fit for him, both from a basketball standpoint and in terms of lifestyle.

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