A rainy Chicago day didn’t impede fans from traveling to the United Center for the tip-off of Ice Cube’s BIG3. Many were ecstatic to root for their favorite teams, contentedly “talkin’ smack” to fans of the opponents. “Let’s go, Ball Hogs,” chants were heard as the team secured a win against the Aliens in game four. It was just one of the six games played on Sunday, June 25.

“We love Chicago, so it’s always on our schedule somewhere,” Ice Cube told me in our conversation a day before the sixth season of his black-owned basketball league began. “This time was like, let’s start it off [in Chicago] because [they have] been great to the BIG3—always showing up supporting from day one, even when they didn’t know what it is.”

Undoubtedly, everyone now knows the league that caters to providing the ultimate sports experience all season long. Basketball lovers see former NBA players like Michael Beasley, Joe Johnson, and Gerald Green in action while witnessing Hall of Famers like Lisa Leslie, Gary Payton, and Julius “Dr.J” Erving coach them. In 2017, Ice Cube, and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz, brought their wit and influence to the sports entertainment industry—and never looked back as the 3-on-3 basketball league continues to grow in popularity.

The BIG3 League

There are twelve teams: 3 Headed Monsters, 3’s Company, Aliens, Ball Hogs, Bivouac, Enemies, Ghost Ballers, Killer 3’s, Power, Tri-state, Trilogy, and Triplets. With entertaining components like “Bring the Fire,” dancers, DJs, four-point fan competitions, and halftime musical performances, fans didn’t want to leave their seats out of fear of missing out on the fun.

“The game has gotten better. We had it rolling three years strong, and then [the pandemic] hit, and we didn’t have a summer. It was like we were gone for two years instead of one. So coming back in ’21 and ’22, we were in a bubble. We weren’t going all over the country like we are this year,” Cube added. “This is the first year since 2019 that we’re back to how we built the league—to go from city to city. Make it a party everywhere we go.”

In Chicago, it was definitely a party. With performances from Twista, Do Or Die, Crucial Conflict, and Shawnna, BIG3 celebrated hip-hop turning 50 by bringing out Chicago legends. The next stops include Dallas, New York, Memphis, Miami, Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, and a Championship game in London at O2 Arena on August 26. It’ll be the first time BIG3 will have an international match.

“We’re doing the professional version of 3-on-3, and we got the best players that have ever played 3-on-3. We got the best league in the world and want to spread our wings—let the world know how great our league is and why players that may be from their country want to come and play in the BIG3. We have people who’ve won gold, silver, and bronze medals in the Olympics playing in our league because they recognize that it is the best.”

There aren’t season passes yet for fans who can’t attend every game in person, but they can view them live on CBS and Paramount+. In 2022, BIG3 reached a three-year high with 625,000 average viewership in the United States.

Q: Will the London Championship game be live on CBS?

Yes, the London Championship game, all of our playoff games, will be on CBS—then the games that are not on CBS [can be watched] on MASN (if you live in the Mid-Atlantic area). You can go to bigthree.com, and we’ll have a link where [we’ll stream the games live].

Q: Before we even get to that big game, on July 9, BIG3 will be in New York to play, but there will also be an indoor-outdoor festival. Can you tell me about that?

About that, we decided to [move to a different venue]. We’ll be at the Barclays now—we will still have a good time. You get everything—all the performances, it’s a whole day of fun. Our players sit in the stands, sign autographs, and take pictures. Unlike the NBA, it’s a loose environment. Here you can move around and interact with the game and the people on the court. 

Q: Providing the best sports experience with various forms of entertainment seems fun, but how do you stay organized with the league growing rapidly? Is it hectic?

It’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of spinning plates. It’s about finding the right people to help you cover specific areas. We got great people, you know, and we’re still growing. So we will bring on [more] people as we get bigger to ensure everything is handled. You have to entertain the people in the building, but you also have to make sure it looks good on TV because everybody in the country is watching. You’re doing two things at once. You’re making sure the people in the building are having a good time, and you’re making sure to look good for the people at home. 

Q: One of the reasons they do have a good time attending games is because of the trash-talking. The players, coaches, and even referees are often mic’d up. What’s the wildest thing you’ve heard someone say?

Ohh man, you know ‘I’m gonna kick your a**,’ ‘You can’t play. [You’re] weak.’ It’s cool to have guys play [passionately]; that’s the key. In the NBA, guys are being paid millions of dollars, which is great, but they can’t express themselves like they want to on the court. It turns them into robots. They say something, get it tagged, and get kicked out. In our league, you get more money if you win than if you lose, so that’s enough to make you mad. They’re definitely passionate about winning the game.

Q: BIG3 has an exclusive partnership with PrizePicks, a popular fantasy platform. How does this partnership help with improving the fan experience? 

That’s what it’s all about, keeping the fans interested, engaged, and talking/thinking about our league and interacting with it in real-time. We’re very happy to be working with them and that they sponsor the league. They can take our game, and their customers or the people in their app can learn about the BIG3, [play with us], win money prizes, whatever. The more, the merrier.

Q: We’ve heard the phrase “For The Culture” a lot. Do you believe this league is imperative to Black culture or sports culture? 

[It’s culture overall]. What makes us different from the NBA is that we can do things they won’t do. We can be a little more familiar with my fan base. It’s the flavor from the top down. The NBA has the flavor of Adam Silver, and the BIG3 has my flavor. We don’t have as much money as the NBA yet, but you can imagine [it] as we grow. It’ll just be a cooler league at the end of the day.

Q: In 2021, you said that the league was one of your greatest accomplishments and that you eventually wanted to expand to 16 teams and create this really big cup. Is that something you still want to do?

We want to expand and have team owners. So we’re selling teams like, you may have a Chicago or Baltimore team. The Big Cup is like my version of the World Cup. I envision countries [worldwide] putting teams together, and we’ll play each other big three rules—and see who’s the best in the world.

Images courtesy of Ice Cube and The BIG3