Big3 hoops league draws large opening crowd

Ice Cube insisted there was a supply of relatively spry former NBA players looking for some action, and a demand to see them from their old fans.

On Sunday, the rapper/actor’s well-honed business sense proved sharp again. His “BIG3” half-court, three-on-three league debuted at Barclays Center before an enthusiastic crowd of about 15,177.

That is not far behind the Brooklyn Nets’ average of 15,429 last season, and the vibe was far livelier than that at your average Nets game, sustained for most of a show that lasted nearly six hours and featured four games.

If there was a downer, it was that fans did not see enough of the main attraction, 3’s Company player/coach Allen Iverson.

The Hall of Famer had warned on Friday not to expect too much of him at age 42, seven years removed from his last NBA game. He wasn’t kidding.

Iverson shot 1-for-6 for two points and added two assists in only nine minutes of action, but he now is 1-0 as a coach, because 3’s Company beat the Ball Hogs 61-51.

“The playing part is not going to be what you expect,” he said afterward. “I’m 42 years old. I’ve been retired for six, seven years. The only reason I get out there is for the fans... You’re not going to see the Allen Iverson of old out there.”

“This is going to be something special,” said Clyde Drexler, coach of a team called Power. “Outside the NBA, this is the most competitive basketball league in the world.”

Perhaps in half-court basketball it is. But part of the point is to allow men in their late 30s and early 40s to do their thing without having to run up and down a full court.

The league will feature eight teams playing quadruple-headers every Sunday this summer. Next are stops in Charlotte, Tulsa and Philadelphia.

The games are untimed, with the winner being the first to 60 and ahead by at least two. Among the rules are three “four-point shot” circles beyond the arc. Former Knick Mike Bibby of Ghost Ballers made two of them.

Assorted celebrities were in the house, including LL Cool J and Whoopi Goldberg. But the audience that Ice Cube was most focused on is current and recently retired NBA stars.

So far, so good. Said Iverson: “The sky’s the limit.”