The Brooklyn Nets' centre, who stands 2.13m, was in Wellington today with Adams as the pair ran a training camp for young basketball players at the ASB Sports Centre in Kilbirnie.
Lopez, an NBA All-Star, said he had followed Adams' rise from a high school hopeful to being drafted 12th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder this year, and had some useful advice for how the 20-year-old might adjust to the big time.
"Coming out of college, when you watch the game on TV it looks very slow, thought out and methodical but then you get out on court and everything's happening instantaneously and you have to make split second decisions," Lopez said.
"That was a bit of an adjustment for me but I think Steven will be doing great for the most part. He's a coachable guy, he'll get out there and work hard, do what's asked of him and do a lot of the small things at first, that will make him stand out from the pack. And from there build on his role."
Lopez, 25, also believed Adams had the ability to make a name for himself in the world's best basketball league.
"I definitely think he has the tools ... A lot of people are definitely drafted on their potential and I think in a lot of cases it's all up to the players to take advantage of their opportunity and take advantage of their skillset.
"Steven definitely has all the tools, all the potential and what I've noticed about him is he really has the mindset and willpower to want to be one of the best players in the league."
Lopez is one of the NBA's premier big men and is set to make an astronomical US$14.7 million (NZ$18.1 million) salary this season with the Nets.
This weekend's camp marks the second time Lopez has travelled to New Zealand after he came here in 2000 to watch his brother, Alex, play for the Canterbury Rams in the NBL.
"So we were in Christchurch for a little bit and saw a few of his games. I definitely took a liking to the area. I'm a big nerd and geek so I did my best to follow the trail to Mordor and see the Lord of the Rings stuff on site, I really enjoyed that as well. We were here for about three weeks."
Lopez has also travelled to Africa during the off-season with the Clinton Foundation and visited Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Rwanda with former US president Bill Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea.
Adams, who will spend the next week in Wellington before returning to the US, will make an announcement regarding his availability for the Tall Blacks later today.
