NBA star says players’ performances will ‘drop’ after GTA VI comes out—and there’s proof to support it
Steven Adams recently joked with reporters to brace themselves for a big drop in sports performances across leagues once GTA VI launches in November. The Houston Rockets center said, “Just wait for November. GTA is dropping, and you’ll see the whole league take a hit, mate.” He added with a laugh that coaching and scouting might suffer too, but performances should bounce back in December.
LeBron James shared last October that he’s ranked in the top 100 Madden players worldwide. Fellow NBA champ Channing Frye mentioned that around 75% of NBA players enjoy video games, with stars like Devin Booker and Kevin Durant playing Call of Duty, and Luka Doncic ranked high in Overwatch. Former player Terrence Ross even guessed as many as 80% play games.
But does playing games mean addiction? For LeBron, it seems harmless, but for others, it’s not so clear. Cam Adair, who helps gamers quit, spoke about an NFL star whose gaming started to cause problems, costing him a $14 million, multi-year contract. Though gaming didn’t stop him from playing, it affected his rest and recovery, leading to declining performance and missed opportunities.
Channing Frye admitted he once spent so much time gaming he had to delete his World of Warcraft account. “Guys stay up all night playing to deal with the stresses of travel,” he said. “I was playing more than watching basketball or training and realized I needed to quit before it took over.”
Snooker champ Neil Robertson also confessed to being a gaming addict. Games like World of Warcraft, FIFA, and Diablo II hurt his practice and results. At one point, his frustration from losing in FIFA even kept him from snooker practice. He also struggled with balancing tournament schedules with his gaming raid nights.
In hockey, players were even asked if they were addicted to Fortnite during a scouting combine in 2018. Riley Sutter, drafted by the Capitals, said some players stay up late gaming, which affects their sleep and performance—a growing concern among teams.
An unnamed NBA agent shared that teams have noticed younger players losing sleep due to late-night gaming, with trainers raising concerns even if coaches don’t. Since 2019, the World Health Organization has recognized “gaming disorder” as a real addiction, and experts believe competitive athletes might be especially drawn to gaming because of their drive to win.
Terrence Ross summed it up, saying, “Competition draws a lot of guys to play video games because, at the end of the day, everything we do is like a game.”