NBA: Steven Adams slips down Top 100 rankings ahead of NBA season

Kiwi Steven Adams has tumbled down ESPN's Top 100 NBA player rankings ahead of the new season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder centre was ranked 47th in last year's rankings but ahead of the upcoming season he's slipped back to 75th.

The Kiwi signed a four-year US$100m deal with the Thunder two years ago and is owed more than $53m over the next two seasons.

Adams was outplayed in the Thunder's first round exit against Portland last season but will front a new-look Oklahoma City side after the departures of star players Russell Westbrook and Paul George.

Former MVP Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets after 11 seasons with the Thunder in a move that brought NBA all star Chris Paul to Oklahoma City.

"Adams is maybe the biggest winner in the Russell Westbrook trade, by the way," ESPN's Zach Lowe wrote about Adams' status for the 2019-20 season.

"He actually can grab some defensive rebounds now. He is one of the league's burliest rebounders, and yet his career defensive rebounding rate is almost on par with that of Andrea Bargnani -- one of the worst big man rebounders ever," he added.