The BIG3 and the Brilliance of Ice Cube

This week on F.Y.E. I am going to talk about the BIG 3 Basketball league that was just created and started it's season about a month ago. If you do not know what the BIG3 is I will give a little run down on that and then my opinion on the league and what I have seen thus far.

The BIG3 is a basketball league that was created by Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz that is meant to separate itself from other professional leagues. It is a 3-on-3 half court league with it's own rules that are meant to cater to it's players. In the BIG3 you will find a 4 point shot, no players fouling out, no time limits, and other rules that separate it from the NBA and NCAA. You will also find some of your favorite ex-NBA and NCAA players and that is the major draw of the BIG3. Players like Allen Iverson, Rashad McCants, Jason Williams, Brian Scalabrine, Kareem Rush, and Kenyon Martin, to name a few, are seen on some of the Big3 teams. You will also notice the teams are coached by some of the greatest players of all time, among them are Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Gary "The Glove" Payton, George "The Iceman" Gervin. It's like a 3-on-3 game at your local gym or playground court but it has some of your favorite players and Hall of Fame coaches in the mix. The league is meant to give these players and coaches the chance to play the game they love and still put on a show for the fans who miss seeing them play. These guys get to a certain age and end up retiring but to say they can't play the game anymore is incredibly inaccurate. That is the main objective of the BIG3.

This is the first season of the BIG3 and it began with a pool of players that were drafted onto 8 teams and those teams were pitted against each other as the league traveled from city to city. The regular season is 8 games played around the country with the top 4 teams making the playoffs in Seattle then a championship game in Las Vegas. The first and second place teams get to keep the same teams but the other 6 teams are all reset and they hold a draft before the next season starts. The games have seen celebrities along with current and past NBA players coming to see the action of the BIG3. The games are not on live TV yet but are aired the following day on Fox Sports 1. I expect to see this change next season seeing how big the first season has been already. The games have been extremely competitive with the players going all out and wanting to not only win but to prove they still have what it takes to play the game at a high level. From the game on the court to the announcing from Gus Johnson, Kenny Albert, and Jim Jackson to the sideline interviews with Michael Rapaport this league is legit and an incredible success in my opinion. Johnson uses all sorts of one-lines to keep the crowd engaged while Rapaport is interviewing players during timeouts.

I think Ice Cube hit a goldmine here and I believe this league will be extremely successful and go on for many seasons. He said after week 1 they received calls from a lot of ex-players who want to get in and play next year, so we could see an expansion of the 8 teams already in the league. Of course there is a list of names that fans want to see: Kobe, Paul Pierce, Jerry Stackhouse, Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury, Nick Van Exel, and many many more. There are trades and a fantasy league was just created. The rules and court are what really make this league successful as they set it apart from other leagues. If you have not watched any of the BIG3 make sure to check it out on Fox Sports 1 next Monday.