Steven Adams predicts level of play across sports will 'plummet' when 'Grand Theft Auto 6' is released

Once 'GTA 6' finally drops in November, Adams thinks players and coaches will lose focus for a few weeks

Sep 22, 2026 at 2:18 pm ET • 2 min read

The Houston Rockets held media day on Tuesday, marking the official start of the 2026 training camp season around the NBA. 

Media day is typically a time for optimism and excitement. Players are all in great shape coming off a summer of workouts where they got in the lab to sharpen their strengths and improve their weaknesses. Coaches have been grinding tape and are excited about their group, ready to build off of last year and take the next step in 2026-27. 

Most media day availabilities follow a similar script, but Steven Adams is among the few players who will genuinely bring something different (and honest) to the podium. On Tuesday, he did just that by predicting that the overall performance across leagues, including the NBA and NFL, will "plummet" in November. 

Why? Because that's when "Grand Theft Auto 6" comes out. 

"I will say, you guys should anticipate November, the performance of the league, league-wide... GTA is dropping," Adams said. "So look at NFL, look at all the leagues and watch them plummet, mate. Just for the month of November, performance is gonna go down. It should come back up though, most of the boys will get it done, hopefully they finish the game. Coaching as well, by the way. The coaching and scouts are gonna be horrendous, mate. Just for November, but it should bounce back in December, hopefully. Should be good."

It's clear that Adams has put genuine thought into this. He's been in the league long enough to know how big gaming has become. And while every year brings big drops from popular games like "Call of Duty" that grab players' attention, "GTA 6" is going to be on a completely different level. 

It's been 13 years since "GTA 5" was released. And when November 19 arrives and "GTA 6" drops, Adams expects focus league-wide to fall off considerably. Perhaps the funniest part is that his prediction isn't just that players will be too locked in on the game, but that coaches and scouts will be "horrendous" as well. 

One of the underrated parts of sports is the human element, and how things that happen off the court or field can impact performance on it. Typically, those are isolated to individual players, but in this case, Adams thinks the release of "GTA 6" will have an impact felt across the entire sports landscape. 

Given that "GTA 5" was released in mid-September back in 2013, there isn't a way to compare NBA productivity at launch, but it's worth keeping an eye out to see if we get some particularly sloppy performances across the sports landscape in late November as players and coaches dive into the most anticipated gaming release in years.