Houston Rockets' Steven AdamsHouston Rockets' Steven Adams
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Houston Rockets center Steven Adams has weighed in on something that has nothing to do with basketball yet could still shape how the league performs this winter.
His prediction points directly at Rockstar Games' next major release, "Grand Theft Auto VI," and the grip it tends to have on anyone who picks up a controller.
NBA's Steven Adams Claims 'GTA 6' to Cause Performance Drops
During the NBA's Media Day, Adams shared his thoughts on how much "GTA VI" could distract players once it finally launches, predicting the game will end up affecting performance across the league.
His comments reflect a broader pattern already seen with past entries in the franchise, where the sheer scale and addictive pull of a new "Grand Theft Auto" release has historically consumed enormous amounts of players' free time. This was said to be the case the moment the game becomes available.
Given how demanding an NBA season already is on players physically and mentally, a distraction as consuming as "GTA VI" landing in the middle of the year genuinely stands out as something worth flagging, according to Adams.
The 'GTA VI' Effect Is Set to Bring 'League-Wide' Decline in NBA
Steven Adams has jokes at media day:
"I will say: you guys should anticipate November. The performance of the league, league-wide. GTA is dropping."pic.twitter.com/OIBnRbDFeL
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) September 22, 2026
According to IGN's report, the Rocket's star center specifically framed the expected dip as something that would not be isolated to a single team or player. Adams described it instead as a "league-wide" issue once the game becomes available to everyone at once.
That framing lines up with how thoroughly "Grand Theft Auto" games have dominated players' attention in the past, pulling people away from sleep schedules, workouts, and other routines in favor of exploring Rockstar's open world the moment it drops.
Since "GTA VI" is set to release in the middle of the NBA season rather than during an offseason lull, any dip in focus or rest among players could plausibly ripple outward across multiple teams at the same time. The phenomenon, a.k.a. the "GTA VI" effect to the NBA, could be affecting not just a handful of individuals here and there.
'GTA VI' Effect Already Affected Other Aspects
Beyond locker rooms, the anticipation surrounding "GTA VI" has already reshaped how the entire gaming industry operates. Publishers have grown increasingly cautious about releasing anything close to Rockstar's launch window, with several major companies confirming plans to either move their own releases earlier or push them back entirely rather than compete directly for players' time and money.
Reports have pointed to September and October becoming unusually crowded with big releases as a direct result, while November remains almost entirely clear aside from "GTA VI" itself.
That same pressure has extended into hardware and pricing as well, with console prices climbing and supply tightening in the lead-up to launch as demand for the best possible setup surges ahead of the game's arrival. Some publishers have gone as far as delaying titles originally planned for late 2026 into 2027 altogether, choosing to sidestep the launch window entirely rather than risk getting buried beneath the attention "GTA VI" is expected to command once it finally arrives.