‘Grand Theft Auto 6’s launch will distract pro athletes, says NBA star

Houston Rockets’ NBA star Steven Adams has said pro athletes are going to be distracted by the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 this November, to the point it affects their ability to play sports.

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Grand Theft Auto 6 launches November 19, thirteen years after the previous Grand Theft Auto title. It’s predicted to be the most expensive video game ever made and, according to reports, has already sold more than 4million copies via pre-order. 

Speaking at a press conference, pro baller Steven Adams told the journalists that they should “anticipate” a major change in November. “The performance of the league, league wide, is going to go down [because] Grand Theft Auto is dropping. Look at NFL, look at all the leagues and watch [player’s performances] plummet.”

“It should come back up [by December] though, most of the boys will get it done,” he continued. “Hopefully they finish the game. Coaching as well. The coaching scouts are going to be horrendous too, just for November.”

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NBA player Steven Adam's says the NBA performance will "plummet" in November because of GTA 6's release 😂 pic.twitter.com/9qmTj6wbF7

— GTA 6 Premium (@GTA6_Premium) September 22, 2026

Earlier this year Strauss Zelnick, boss of GTA 6 publishers Take Two, said he believed people would skip work to play the game: “[I] think a lot of people will be calling in sick on November 19.”

Back in 2021, football manager Jose Mourinho called Fortnite a “nightmare” in a viral clip. “Football players stay up all night playing that shit and the next day, they have a game”. However Harry Kane said playing the multiplayer shooter with his England teammates helped his performance at the 2018 world cup.

Last week, Rockstar Games and Atlantic Records announced they were teaming up for ‘Grand Theft Auto 6: The Album’. The 34-track collection of exclusive songs from some of the biggest artists in the world. The full line-up is still to be announced but we know Travis Scott, Future, Fred Again.., Morgan Wallen, Pink Pantheress and Keith Richards are just some of the artists involved.

As well as hitting streaming services, ‘Grand Theft Auto 6: The Album’ will be getting a number of CD and vinyl editions – however some limited-edition variants are already being resold online for 3x the rrp.