Hip-hop legend Ice Cube’s 3×3 basketball league, the Big3, has grown from strength to strength since its formation in 2017. The 55-year-old has successfully managed a basketball league in an environment where the NBA is the most dominant league. Recently, Cube revealed how the idea of running a league came to him.
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On Jeff Teague’s Club 520 Podcast, Cube stated that missing the last Lakers game of the late, great Kobe Bryant and the regret that followed, became the foundation stone for his league. He also revealed that he had the idea of a 3×3 league in his mind, but Kobe’s retirement made him act quickly on his plans.
Cube was born in LA and is one of the biggest supporters of the Los Angeles Lakers. So, it’s obvious that the man who represented his franchise for two decades meant a lot to him. That’s why Cube wanted to be at Kobe’s last game, where he dropped 60 points to make it memorable for every fan.
Unfortunately, Cube was shooting a movie at the time in Atlanta.
He said, “You know, seeing Kobe score 60 points in his last game, I was kinda hot, I missed the game…then I was like, damn, I started just the realization of, I can’t see this dude hoop no more. I cannot go nowhere and pay to see this dude play and that’s some bullsh*t. So, I was like, man, there’s got to be a way. Now, I’m starting to think of this idea I had in the back of my head for years about 3×3.”
Cube spent the rest of 2016 working on his project. He said that he started figuring out how to elevate the 3×3 format of basketball to a professional level and how to execute the plan for his league in a way where he can make it different from the NBA.
After a year of hard work, his dream became a reality when he launched Big3 in 2017.
Big3 has made great strides in the last seven years
Even though it’s not a written rule, the Big3 caters more to retired players, especially those who still have a lot of basketball left in them but can’t perform at the level of the NBA. Until May 2024, all the teams in the Big3 were centrally owned. Now, they have a Los Angeles-based BIG3 team which was sold for $10 million.
In addition to the finances, the Big3 has grown a lot in terms of viewership and attracting NBA athletes as well. In 2023, when the Big3 had their All-Star game, the current NBA Champion and Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown, became the first active NBA player to play in the 3×3 league. All of this success is a result of Cube’s brilliant plan and marketing skills.
The rap legend also tried to bank on the unprecedented wave that was seen around Caitlin Clark by offering the WNBA rookie a $5 million contract to play in his league.
