Steven Adams warns of an NBA “decline” with the release of GTA 6

Steven Adams has warned that the release of GTA 6 could cause a temporary “decline” in NBA performance in November. The Houston Rockets center believes the video game’s effect will go beyond basketball and affect all sports leagues.

“I would say they should prepare for November. The league’s performance, across the whole league, will be affected because GTA is coming out, so look at the NFL, look at all the leagues and watch how they collapse only during the month of November,” Adams said.

The game is due to be released on November 19. In the United States, companies expect to lose several million dollars because of work absenteeism coinciding with that date. The anticipated impact would not only concern workshops, IT companies or hospitals: the sports world would also be exposed, with its participants being regular video-game consumers.

Adams nevertheless expects the dip to be short-lived. “Performance will go down, although it should come back up. Most of the guys, hopefully, will finish the game. Coaching and scouting will also be terrible only during November, but it should recover in December. Hopefully, it should be fine,” he added.

Adams, a prominent NBA figure in recent years, is used to approaching interviews and press conferences with a strong sense of humour. His warning of a drop in performance in November comes as Rockstar Games’ next title is described as the release of the decade, eagerly awaited by millions of people looking to return to the world of Grand Theft Auto.