Steven Adams talks Kiwi in 'sweet as' BancFirst ad

Basketball star Steven Adams is cashing in on his Kiwi image to front an advertisement for a bank in the United States using a full vocabulary of New Zealand slang.

Adams, known for his deadpan humour, is at his best as he fronts the advertisement dressed in a suit with a basketball in hand, looking more like a newsreader than an Oklahoma City Thunder NBA star.

The ad starts off with the introduction: "Speaking Kiwi with Steven Adams and BancFirst."

And the giant delivers from the outset with a smiling "kia ora" and then describes himself as a Kiwi bloke who has "a new bach right here in Oklahoma".

The advertisement runs with subtitles to translate the Kiwi slang for the American audience.

"Because I'm a bit of a dag, BancFirst has asked me to spin a bit of a yarn with you about what makes them so choice. I'd better get my A into G," Adams says.

"You'd have to be two sammies short of a picnic not to bust a gut to do all your banking with BancFirst. Whether you are loaded or on the dole, they treat you like rellies and never spit the dummy and they always put in a hard day's yakka."

Chocolate fish and tiki-tours also feature with Adams finishing with a "sweet-as".

Adams' mass appeal has been used to his advantage in New Zealand as well. Telecommunications giant Spark has featured Adams in a campaign trying to get the company connected with young Aucklanders by bringing five high-tech basketball courts to the city, linking them to courts in America.

Adams signed a lucrative shoe deal with Adidas after he joined the NBA in their 2013 draft.

Leading US hoops websites have Adams listed at a salary of US$2,184,960 (NZ$2.9m) for his second season in the world's biggest basketball league.