NBA players are facing an unusual off-court distraction this autumn, with Houston Rockets center Steven Adams warning that league-wide performances are set to take a sharp dive in November due to the long-awaited launch of Grand Theft Auto VI.
Speaking to reporters, the New Zealand-born veteran predicted a noticeable drop in basketball quality across the maximum championship when the title hits consoles on November 19, nearly thirteen years after the previous installment of the franchise debuted. Adams pointed directly to the anticipated cultural phenomenon as an unavoidable hurdle for locker rooms throughout the sport.
Steven Adams Predicts November Slump Across Basketball and Football Leagues
“I’ll tell you what: get ready for November,” Adams said during his press conference. “The performance of the league will drop, generally speaking, because GTA is coming out.”
Adams suggested that the entertainment disruption would extend well beyond the hardwood, drawing comparisons to other major sports leagues in the United States. Just for the month of November, but the performance will drop. Then they should go back up,” he added.
The veteran center did not spare coaching staffs from his lighthearted warning, noting that tactical preparation might briefly suffer as personnel balance their duties with the massive open-world video game.
“Most of the guys will make it, let’s hope they finish the game. The same goes for the coaches, by the way. The coaching staffs will be terrible, just for November, but they should recover in December. Let’s hope,” Adams concluded.
Waiting 13 Years for GTA VI
The release of Grand Theft Auto VI represents one of the most anticipated events in the entertainment industry, with fans waiting over a decade since Rockstar Games launched Grand Theft Auto V in September 2013.
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