In 2017, rapper and songwriter Ice Cube launched the Big 3 league. It featured 12 teams and offered a way for older NBA players to continue playing when they’re not fully ready to retire but can’t find other opportunities. The Big 3 has seen decent success, playing high-leverage games and building a fanbase too.
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Ice Cube’s recent chat with Shannon Sharpe on Nightcap started with the rapper, a lifelong Lakers fan, stating that he is still shocked that LA had picked up Luka Doncic. The discussion eventually shifted to the future of the Big 3.
The league has been able to approach and sign a ridiculously strong set of names, including Joe Johnson, who made the Pistons’ preseason roster in 2019. Their marquee signing ahead of the 2025 season is former MVP candidate and Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard. For Ice Cube, this league comes from a place of respect as much as nostalgia.
It was while watching Kobe Bryant’s 60-point farewell game that the idea of the league dawned on Cube.
Kobe left the NBA in style, punctuating his pro career like only he could and leaving the fans a performance to remember. Not only did Kobe sink the winning shot with 31.6 seconds remaining, but he also scored 15 or the team’s final 17 points. He was retiring, but he clearly still had a lot of ball left in him. And this got Ice Cube thinking.
“I was kinda upset I couldn’t watch him [Bryant] play no more and I said well, why can’t he play?… but if you can score 60 points in a game, you can still play, I don’t give a damn how old you are,” said Ice Cube on Nightcap.
The rapper explained, “I’m a fan, and you know, after the Finals, the NBA Finals, man, I would hibernate until football season started… For people who love basketball and love football, those dog days of summer got brutal. And so I know there was a lot of fans out there like me.”
Cube began to wonder if they could fit a season between the Finals and the start of the NFL season, and what he came up with was a creative way to extend older players’ basketball longevity while avoiding the grind that a long season puts on their bodies.
The Big 3 season is crammed into 10 weeks, and it’s three-on-three on the half court, so there are no fast breaks. While it lowers the pace, it keeps the older players healthy and doing what they love.
Ice Cube is clearly a fan of basketball and cherishes the legends of the game. In his league, he has insisted on quality and has tried to supplement it with entertainment value.
The Big 3 league has also ensured basketball is pretty much available right through the summer.
With the NBA season ending in June or May most years, the WNBA has exploded in popularity and is sure to keep growing. While this pushes the Big 3 to sideshow territory, it is still cool to see the passion that pushes older players to keep going.
