Steven Adams is a funny dude.

The Oklahoma City Thunder center joked that he stayed in basketball shape during the NBA hiatus by "boxing out cows" while he was in his native New Zealand, according to Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman. 

Jokes aside, the experience Adams had in New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic was far different than what he would have experienced had he remained in the United States. New Zealand, a country with 4.9 million people, has had just 1,530 reported coronavirus cases resulting in 22 deaths. 

The United States, on the other hand, has had 2,732,639 reported cases resulting in 128,651 deaths, per CNN.com. Adams talked about New Zealand's response to the pandemic:

"There was a few hiccups here and there, but for the most part, New Zealanders generally are quite compliant with rules, you know what I mean? Everyone was kind of making sure that we follow the rules properly, maintain distance and whatnot. Collectively, all the Kiwis did a really, really good job with that, and that's what kind of shut it down. But then again, it is a bit different. We're just a smaller country and our borders are easily managed."

Adams traveled back to Oklahoma City in preparation for the NBA restart at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. He didn't mention whether he would miss his cows.