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CNN
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Highest scoring points in NBA history. Fourth in triple-doubles. Fifth in three-pointers made.
LeBron James is part of the discussion for numerous records, making it hardly surprising when another one is mentioned.
That is, until he discloses that he ranks among the top 100 gamers globally in Madden NFL 25, as he announced in October.
“LeBron truly is that talented at Madden,” his past teammate and fellow NBA champion Channing Frye shares with CNN Sport.
For years, video games have gradually made their entrance into the sports arena. On December 21, fans of NBC Sports and Peacock were treated to watch the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-19 victory against the Houston Texans on an alternative broadcast that incorporated elements from Madden NFL 25, including player ratings and visuals directly from the game.
Just two days earlier, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson supposedly declined the opportunity to trade for current Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy during the offseason due to his in-game Madden rating, as reported by The Athletic.
Nonetheless, the fact that a top-tier traditional sports athlete might be so committed to a video game is a breakthrough that challenges the conventional, obsolete perception of who athletes are: professional sportspeople certainly do not spend that much time on video games.
However, it turns out they actually do.
“I was truly engaged with World of Warcraft when it was first launched,” Frye recalls. “I was on there with Malik Rose, Andrei Kirilenko, Quentin Richardson, (five-time NBA champion) Tim Duncan, and myself. We were really getting into it! Just getting into it. I even had the chance to play with (San Antonio Spurs legend) David Robinson. That game was something else.”
Frye’s encounters with the game were primarily positive, serving as a getaway for him and other players to unwind from the pressures of top-tier sports.
“Dookiedrawls was (the online name of) my pal!” he chuckles. “I had a snake, and when the snake would bite you, thanks to the graphics, it seemed as though it punched you in the groin, so I named him Dickpuncher. I would be like, ‘Go get him, Dickpuncher!’
“Then my friends, who played, would all have outrageous names for their pets. It made us laugh every single time. You’re being attacked by Dickpuncher, Eye Gouger, Wet Willie!”
The intersection between the NBA and the gaming realm extends significantly beyond Frye’s group and its assortment of humorously named creatures.
“Devin Booker, KD, all those players are engaging in Call of Duty,” states Frye. “I believe Luka (Dončić) has a diamond or platinum (rank) in Overwatch. I’m also aware that Robin and Brook Lopez enjoy playing Overwatch as well. Therefore, I would estimate that around 75% of individuals (in the NBA) participate in video gaming.”
Previous Slam Dunk Contest victor Terrence Ross approximates that the actual number of players is even greater.
“I would assert at least 80%,” he conveys to CNN Sport. “Particularly with the NBA getting progressively younger, many of these youngsters are simply growing up with PlayStation, Xbox, or whatever platform it might be.”
Ross takes gaming with great seriousness. The former player for the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, and Phoenix Suns possesses a fully operational arcade machine in his home office – which he refers to as his “happy space” – adorned with a likeness of himself as a superhero on the side.
“It’s simply me in a cape with a large Superman t-shirt emblazoned on my chest, looking incredibly muscular,” he chuckles. “It’s not too shabby!”
Such is Ross’ enthusiasm that he even ventured into streaming toward the latter part of his basketball journey.
“I had a small kit that I used to carry with me while traveling that enabled me to stream,” he explains. “So I would pack a duffel bag with a laptop, camera, microphone, and anything else I might require.
“It’s one of those experiences where it’s almost… not another job, but it helps me stay engaged.”
Both Frye and Ross take pride in their gaming skills, but it wouldn’t be inaccurate to suggest that their accolades are surpassed by those of former snooker world champion Neil Robertson.
The only snooker athlete from outside the UK who has ever achieved the sport’s Triple Crown – the World Championship, the Masters, and the UK Championship – Robertson also dedicated a number of years to competing with the world’s elite in World of Warcraft.
“I was part of one of the top five guilds globally,” the Australian shares with CNN Sport. “Not many athletes can make that claim!
“I used to practice (snooker) in the morning, then head to the internet café, where I would spend about 10 hours until it closed. The guys absolutely adored my presence there!”
All three, Frye, Ross, and Robertson, reminisce about some truly wonderful gaming experiences, but they also acknowledge a juncture where it simply became overwhelming.
“Numerous individuals in the league face difficulties sleeping, primarily because we are on the road frequently, traveling, and juggling numerous commitments,” Frye points out. “What occurs with video games is that they keep you awake. I’ve seen players stay up all night engaged in gaming.
“I found myself dedicating more time to video gaming than I was to watching basketball. Of course, I was committed to my workouts, but I would contemplate, ‘Should I extend my stay by an additional 30 minutes? Nah – I’ll head home earlier to spare myself 30 minutes for gaming.’”
Frye managed to rein in his engagement with World of Warcraft before it became too consuming. “It reached a stage where I was just like, ‘I need to deactivate my account,’” he admits. “That was excessive. During summer, I would literally stay in my room for 24 hours straight.”
In the past, scholarly investigations into video game addiction were scarce. However, since 2019, the World Health Organization has acknowledged “gaming disorder” as a legitimate health issue.
While the former Cavs player stops short of claiming that he was ever addicted, Ross is less certain when posed with the same inquiry.
“I definitely could perceive it,” he states. “I definitely experienced a time when it was like, ‘Alright, now my son is about three or four, I can’t engage in video gaming for four hours continuously after practice.’ I had to diversify my activities.
“Yet, I realized it was such a soothing practice for me that I wouldn’t even recognize myself just heading to my office and immediately starting the game. It was so atypical. It became such a routine that I had to, in a way, dismantle it.
“It was challenging. It may sound absurd, but my wife and I used to argue, like, ‘You’re gaming too frequently.’ I’d respond, ‘No, I’m not.’ However, over time, I began to understand, ‘Okay, I can start to see it.’”
Is it feasible to engage in as much gaming as Frye and Ross without affecting your court performances?
“I believe it’s nearly impossible for it not to,” asserts Cam Adair, the founder of Game Quitters, a support network for individuals grappling with gaming dependency. “And the primary reason is simply the number of hours invested; it doesn’t allow ample time for other pursuits.
“Are they obtaining sufficient sleep and recuperation? Are they engaging in the additional training they require?”
Adair recalls an instance where he was approached by the coach of an NFL team who expressed concern for one of his athletes.
“This player was an emerging talent, making significant strides, and was on the verge of earning a substantial, multi-year contract,” he recalls. “His manager reached out to me due to worries about the extent of gaming he was engaging in. While it wasn’t directly affecting his gameplay, the manager was a bit anxious about its impact on his downtime, specifically not dedicating enough time to his business or recovery.
“This player began to experience a decline in performance and injuries accumulated, ultimately leading to him missing out on that multi-year contract, which at the time would have been valued at approximately $14 million annually on a multi-year agreement.
“While it didn’t prevent him from participating in the NFL, this amounted to tens of millions of dollars left behind.”
In the instance of Ross, the consequences of his behavior on the court, though nuanced, manifested in concerns over whether his actual game performance would influence the rating of his digital representation in the video game NBA 2K.
“I’m considering my percentages more while I’m competing because at this point it feels like every shot was a bit more… it felt a tad weightier, simply because I was thinking, ‘If I have a poor performance in reality, I’m aware my character on 2K is likely to deteriorate a little.’ So, like, that’s what’s occupying my thoughts.”
While Ross appears somewhat uncertain regarding whether his gaming constituted a habit or an obsession, Robertson does not share that doubt.
“I was definitely an addict. Oh my god, yes,” he states. “You’re somewhat in denial about it. You believe it isn’t affecting you when it genuinely is.”
Robertson’s substance dependency initiated when he was around 19 years old, as he endeavored to become a professional back in Australia.
“I recall when Diablo II was released. That marked the first instance of a significant issue,” he reflects. “I remember my mother creating an account for herself so she could log in and check on me, ensuring I wasn’t playing during the daytime and that I was actually attending the snooker club to practice.”
Unfortunately, although Robertson managed to overcome his Diablo II dependency, that game was merely substituted by a series of others throughout the Australian’s journey, many of which influenced his performance on the snooker table.
“Without a doubt it hindered my practice, and that’s obviously going to influence your performances on the table,” he remarks. “There are instances when I managed to bypass it and still retained a really good ranking and managed to win numerous tournaments. But there were times I’ve struggled for several months.”
One such occasion occurred during the 2013-14 season. “The latter half of that season, when I immersed myself in FIFA 14, I experienced a significant decline in results because I was constantly playing that game,” he recalls. “I was attending practice frustrated because I was losing (at FIFA). It was just dreadful.”
“There were some days when I’d get so exasperated playing the game that I wouldn’t even show up for practice.”
Another one of Robertson’s dependencies was League of Legends. “Many years back, when I was engaged in League of Legends, you know, this game often ran maybe 20 minutes longer than it should have, but it’s incredibly close,” he shares.
“In reality, I should be in the shower preparing for my match. Suddenly, when the game wraps up, I’m quickly dashing around getting ready. And as a result, perhaps I don’t perform to my full potential.”
Robertson’s obsession with World of Warcraft even led him to contemplate letting himself lose snooker tournaments so he could have more time to game.
“Our raiding nights (in World of Warcraft) were on Wednesdays and Sundays,” he clarifies. “Sunday always coincides with the finals of a snooker tournament, and I distinctly remember thinking, ‘Don’t fall into the pit of believing it’s acceptable to lose in the semis on Saturday because that means you can raid on Sunday.’”
He reminisces about another episode when he understood the hotel he was lodging in for a snooker competition in China lacked sufficient Wi-Fi to engage in online gaming.
“I’d be like, ‘Oh my gosh, this trip is going to be a disaster now. I compete in a snooker match, and then for the remaining 14 hours of the day, I’m going to be gazing at the ceiling with nothing to occupy myself,’” he states. “And your subconscious kicks in to the point where you almost desire to lose just to return home.”
Having been largely sober for seven years at this point, Robertson, who continues to play snooker at an elite level, can contemplate what factors might render professional athletes particularly susceptible to video game dependency.
“I possess a very obsessive disposition, like all leading athletes do. When I discover a pastime that I become truly passionate about, if it isn’t beneficial, it can become quite harmful,” he elucidates. “Everything I engage in, I commit to 100%.”
This sentiment is reiterated by both Frye and Ross. “I’m quite competitive,” claims the former. “My son surpasses me in Overwatch, so I’m watching YouTube (for advice). I was just doing that prior to this interview.”
“I believe that competitiveness is certainly a factor that attracts many individuals to play,” agrees Ross. “Ultimately, everything we do is essentially a game. You always aim to be the best, irrespective of the activity – whether it’s academics, athletics, or your profession – it’s invariably that added impetus of competitiveness that emerges.”
Another factor, Ross elucidates, is the extent of time athletes are away from home, especially at young ages. The current 33-year-old mentions that the period he was gaming the most happened “just as I got drafted.”
“Because I was still quite young, coming out of college. I was probably around 20, 21 perhaps. I was drafted to Toronto, so I found myself in a different country, nearly alone.
“I sensed I was drafted into a team comprised entirely of older individuals. It was just me and another rookie who were the youngest on the squad, while everyone else had children, families, and significant others. So I felt like, ‘Alright, well, I don’t really have much to occupy my time anyway. I lack many creative outlets. I just don’t want to intrude on a teammate’s family time.’”
“Man, I remember there were times when I simply didn’t know what else to do,” he continues. “I’d game for a solid three, four hours, nap, grab a bite, return, and play for another three or four hours, sleep, wake up, and I’d just keep doing that repeatedly.”
It is a pattern which Adair has witnessed many times.
“(One of) the significant factors that render them (athletes) somewhat defenseless is that, firstly, they experience a lot of idle time,” he notes. “And during that idle time, they almost require to recuperate. They must unwind and recharge while staying at home to avoid trouble. And when you’re lounging on the couch, what are you going to do? Gaming becomes the go-to, right?
“Many young individuals are influenced because they are outside their cultural environment, all their peers are back home, and it’s a different time zone.”
Part of the resolution, according to Adair, is addressing video game addiction in the same manner teams and leagues tackle the more recognized issues that athletes encounter, such as frequenting bars and clubs.
“Historically, there were various pastimes, and now it’s predominantly gaming, and they need to recognize what the consequences are,” he asserts. “Engaging in gaming for extended hours impacts your brain, influences your motivation, and affects your overall well-being.
“If you truly aspire to perform at the utmost level, appropriate training is essential to achieve it. And I believe gaming, technology, and social media are all part of this domain now, representing a new frontier they need education on.”
Athletes will persist in seeking new methods to compete, relax, and communicate with friends and family back home. With suitable guidance, video games can assist athletes in achieving all three objectives.
“At times, finding an escape from reality and forging a community is beneficial,” Frye emphasizes.
“But you need to engage with the real world for it to be a game.”
