NBA Center From New Zealand Calls Opponents ‘Quick Little Monkeys.’ You Can Probably Imagine How That Turns Out.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams has apologized after referring to his opponents as "quick little monkeys" in a post-game interview with ESPN on Monday.

“It was just a poor choice of words, mate,” Adams said, USA Today reported. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I didn’t know it was going to upset anyone, but I’m truly sorry. It was just a poor choice of words. I was just trying to express how difficult it was chasing those guys around.”

Adams, who moved to the U.S. from New Zealand in 2012 to attend the University of Pittsburgh, added that his English dialect was also partly to blame for the phrase, which takes on racial connotations.

“It’s just different, mate. Different words, different expressions and stuff like that. But they obviously can be taken differently, depending on which country you’re in," Adams said.

"I’m assimilating, mate, still trying to figure out the boundaries. But I definitely overstepped them tonight," he added.

Adams' apology came after he made the remark to ESPN reporter Chris Broussard following his team's 108-102 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Steven Adams chooses the wrong words to describe the Warriors' guards. "They're quick little monkeys," he says. pic.twitter.com/ss5DbHilqD

— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 17, 2016

(H/T: Uproxx)

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