Steven Adams of the NBA’s Houston Rockets has predicted that all the major professional sports leagues will experience a dip in quality this November because top athletes will be too focused on GTA 6.
Speaking to press, Adams said, “Look at the NFL, look at all the leagues, and watch them plummet. Just for the month of November, performance is gonna go down.”
He went on to say things should get back to normal after athletes finish the game. “It should come back up though; most of the boys will get it done. Hopefully they finish the game,” he said.
Adams went on to say that other aspects of professional sports leagues will suffer, too, including coaching and scouting efforts that he said will be “horrendous,” but “just for November.”
Adams is obviously not being totally serious here, but GTA 6 is indeed one of the most highly anticipated game releases ever, and a lot of people–including pro athletes–are going to play it. We’ll have to check back in November to see if athletes playing the game had any adverse effect on stats, however.
Before this, an NFL player blamed his on-field struggles on video games, while NFL QB Kyler Murray is known for playing too much Call of Duty.
Adams has previously discussed his interest in video games, singling out titles like Dota 2 and Smite as some of his favorites. “I’m more of a nerd,” he told TMZ.
GTA 6 releases on November 19. The Rockets do not play that day, but there are four games that day across the NBA. November 19 is also a Week 11 Thursday Night Football day.