Kiwi NBA basketball star Steven Adams won’t be playing for the Tall Blacks at this year’s World Cup in China.
Last week Adams was named in an extended squad for the September tournament.
However, Adams has messaged Basketball New Zealand saying that he is unavailable.
He said that while ” he won’t be participating this year with the National Team, his plan is to evaluate the opportunity to play in the 2020 Olympics following the upcoming NBA season.”
To qualify for the Olympics, the Tall Blacks must finish higher than the other Oceania team at the World Cup, including Australia.
Failing that, they must finish in the top four of one of the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in June 2020.
Adams, who plays centre for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA, is yet to play a game for New Zealand.
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