Steven Adams rated one of the dirtiest players in the NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder's Steven Adams, right, is fouled by Los Angeles Lakers' Roy Hibbert. photo / AP

Steven Adams has been voted one of the dirtiest players in the NBA by players and coaches in the league.

In an anonymous poll by the Los Angeles Times, with 24 players and coaches taking part, Adams came out second in the results behind Cleveland and Australian point guard Matthew Dellavedova.

Dellavedova led the way with 13 votes, followed by Adams with seven. In a transtasman sweep, Australian and Golden State centre Andrew Bogut came in third with five votes. Adams' Oklahoma City teammate Serge Ibaka received two votes.

The results come a week after Adams accidentally hit a referee.

"The stuff that he does is not cool," an anonymous coach said about Adams.

"He throws elbows, extra hitting dudes away from the ball, hitting them with the chicken wing [elbow] and trying to get a rise out of them. That kind of stuff."

Added a player from a Western Conference team: "He's real physical, but he crosses the line with stuff. He'll throw a sneaky elbow, push you in the back and foul you extra hard."

Adams has gained such a reputation for getting in scuffles with opponents since entering the NBA in 2013 that American website Grantland ran a story called 'Who Will Punch Steven Adams in the Face Power Rankings'.