Basketball: Adams makes history in NBA draft

Steven Adams (R) shakes hands with NBA Commissioner David Stern after being selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder as the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft in Brooklyn, New York. REUTERS/Keith Bedford

The 2.13m (7ft) centre from Rotorua was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 12th pick of the draft this afternoon.

He will play alongside superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Adams, the brother of Olympic shotput champion Valerie Adams, is only the second Kiwi player to be selected in the NBA draft and the first to go in its first round of 30 picks.

He revealed a New Zealand flag sewn on the inside of his suit and thanked his Kiwi fans during his post-selection interview with ESPN.

"Thank you for all the support guys and I'm pretty much doing it as a Kiwi, man. Always," he said.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are championship contenders, with a talented roster built around a transcendent scorer in Durant.

Adams said he was happy to go to the franchise.

"It feels amazing eh. All the New Zealand family was just rooting for OKC. So I'm pretty happy that I'm ending up in OKC.

ESPN analyst Bill Simmons said Adams could be a future difference-maker for the Thunder.

"This is an energy guy... Everybody loves his personality. People were talking about him like he was Eddie Murphy circa 1983."

Sean Marks was the last Kiwi player to be drafted into the NBA.

He was selected by the New York Knicks with the 44th pick in 1998.

Sharpshooter Kirk Penny was not drafted but played brief stints in the NBA for the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Earlier, the draft got off to a shocking start, with the Cleveland Cavaliers picking power forward Anthony Bennett at number one.

Centre Nerlens Noel, who was seen as a virtual lock to go number one overall, fell to the New Orleans Pelicans at number six.

He was then traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for star point guard Jrue Holiday and a 2014 first round pick.

Shooting guard Victor Oladipo went to the Orlando Magic at number two and hometown favourite Otto Porter went to the Washington Wizards at number three.