[4]After the death of his father, Blossom Cameron rescued him from the streets of Rotorua being given legal guardianship and took him to Wellington.

[9] Blossom Cameron took responsibility for Adams and introduced him to Wellington basketball legend Kenny McFadden.

McFadden accepted Adams into his basketball academy, and Blossom Cameron enrolled him in Scots College.

[11] On 2 April 2013, Adams declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.

[17] In his NBA debut on 30 October 2013, Adams recorded two points, three rebounds, one assist and three fouls in 18½ minutes off the bench against the Utah Jazz.

[10] In game 6 of the Thunder's second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Adams recorded 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.

[29] Adams helped the Thunder advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in three years, where in game 1 against the Golden State Warriors, he recorded 16 points and 12 rebounds.

[35] On 1 December 2017, Adams scored a career-high 27 points on perfect shooting from the field and the free throw line to help the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 111–107.

[50] On 23 October, Adams scored a season-high 17 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and recorded 5 assists in a 120–114 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

[51] On 6 December, Adams helped lead the Grizzlies to a fifth straight win while tying his season high with 17 points scored, alongside grabbing 16 rebounds, in a 105–90 victory over the Miami Heat.

[57] Two days later, the Grizzlies announced that he was diagnosed with a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) sprain in his right knee and would be sidelined for three-to-five weeks.

[58] On 9 March, the Grizzlies announced that Adams had received a stem cell injection the day before and would be re-evaluated in four weeks, ending his regular-season run.

[59] His ongoing recovery caused him to miss the playoffs; the second-seeded Grizzlies were eliminated by the seventh-seeded Lakers in the first round, two games to four.

Adams missed the entire 2023–24 NBA season as he underwent surgery on his PCL, which had not responded to non-operative rehabilitation.

[60] On February 1, 2024, Adams was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Victor Oladipo and three future second-round picks.

[61] On October 28, 2024, Adams made his Rockets debut putting up 6 points and three rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench in a 106-101 win against the San Antonio Spurs.

[62] On January 5, 2025, after fully recovering from PCL surgery, Adams recorded a near double-double with 8 points, 9 rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal in 17 minutes of action off the bench in a 119-115 win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

[63] On January 22, 2025, Adams put up three points, a season-high 11 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in 19 minutes off the bench in a 109-108 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

[64] On January 30, 2025, Adams made his first start of the season recording a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists in a 120-119 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies.

In 2018, his autobiography Steven Adams: My Life, My Fight was released, co-written by childhood friend and journalist Madeleine Chapman.