Last year, the International Olympic Committee approved the addition of 3-on-3 basketball to be added to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Also last year, Ice Cube’s Big 3 league launched last summer and has been attracting major cities in the United States.
Excellent timing!
Names like Allen Iverson, Kenyon Martin, Charles Oakley, Nate Robinson, Brian Scalabrine and more have gone from city to city and engaged fans with their exciting half court 3-on-3 play.
In year two, the Big 3 League has enjoyed a great rollout, their games are broadcast live on Fox Sports One, the league also has a new apparel deal with Adidas and they’ve added new players to the league like Metta World Peace.
Apparently they’re far from done! A video game is in their future!
“At first, they said no,” NBA Hall of Famer and current Big 3 commissioner, Clyde Drexler told reporter, Landon Buford on the Big 3’s Conference call earlier this week.
“But now they are saying this has some weight and legs and they want to be a part of it. We would love to have a Big 3 on 2K Sports or EA Sports, it’s our dream because we want to grow the game and make it a global sport.”
Clyde Drexler talks Houston Rockets glory days on Scoop B Radio.https://www.youtube.com/embed/rA6r0nGIJJo
Added Drexler:
“3 on 3 basketball is the most played basketball in the world. It is an original form of art, and the Big 3 is the professional league of the original form. So, it is only natural.”
Founded 18 months ago by Jeff Kwatinetz and Ice Cube, the Big 3 has cool intricacies to their game. For instance, the shot clock is run on 14 seconds instead of the 24 seconds the NBA runs on. Additionally, instead of a jump ball to start the game, the “home” team inbounds first.
Ice Cube, co-signs Clyde Drexler’s line of thinking. “Our sport was a different level when we first initiated those contacts,” he said.
“A lot of people told us no in the beginning, or maybe.”
Added Ice Cube:
“Now, they are interested in talking with us and we plan on discussing details with the companies that we have been approached by and we understand that we are ahead of the curve. It takes time for people to catch up and we don’t mind it; we will wait for them to catch up.”
The league is, however, willing to wait out the process for the best possible solution.
“We have contacted some of the biggest and the best at it,” said Ice Cube.
“But our timing was not great for what needs to be done to get something like that off the ground.”
