Former Bucks player Sanders back in town with Big 3 league
Ice Cube admits he was a bit selfish when he founded the Big 3 basketball league in 2017.
The rapper-turned-entrepreneur wanted to sit courtside and watch basketball games in the summer that featured talented players. That idea became the Big 3, a three-on-three basketball league featuring recently retired NBA stars that will set up shop at Fiserv Forum on Sunday.
“I still fan out,” Cube said this week. “I still want to see this one (player) against that one. I want to see how this team is going to react after that loss. That’s still the best part is the games.”
But Cube also found his creation helped former NBA superstars in a deeper way than just jump shots and pick-and-rolls.
“It’s just giving these guys their spirit back in a way,” Cube said. “Some guys out the game are lost. Playing all these years, it’s all they know. It’s ripped out from under them.”
Former Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders knows what that is like.
He is competing in the Big 3 for the first time this season. Sanders’ teammates include Rashard Lewis, Reggie Evans, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Tre Simmons and Mario Chalmers and the squad is coached by Gary Payton.
“Great players, great league,” Sanders said. “It’s dope that guys who normally would never play together, we get a chance to play together, get to know each other. Build that network.”
The 6-foot-11 Sanders was drafted by the Bucks 15th overall in 2010. He averaged 2.8 blocks per game in the 2012-13 season and signed a fouryear, $44 million contract extension in 2013.
Sanders completed less than one year on his new deal due to several off-the-court issues, including a nightclub fight and a couple suspensions for marijuana use. After completing a buyout from the Bucks - the team will pay him through the 202122 season - Sanders opened up about his struggles with mental health.
He sat out the 2015-16 NBA season and then had a five-game comeback with the Cleveland Cavaliers the next season.
Sanders still has an itch to play. He’s getting a chance in the Big 3.
“Everyone loves basketball,” Sanders said. “We all like being on a team again. The camaraderie. That’s the kind of stuff we’re so used to.”
Other former Bucks playing at Fiserv Forum on Sunday include Drew Gooden and Jason Terry.
“Some guys are in it for the financial benefits, which is not much,” Cube said. “But most guys are in it because they love to hoop. They love to play and they’re sick of playing these average Joes.
“Getting 40 against Joe the Plumber at the YMCA ain’t going to do nothing for your ego. But going for 30 against Reggie Evans will, you know? I think what they love about the Big 3 is if they keep themselves in shape, keep their game up, it’s place where they can come play professionally back in big arenas.”
Milwaukee will probably look a lot different to Sanders. The Bradley Center has been reduced to rubble. The Bucks are now one of the elite teams in the NBA, while Sanders only played four playoff games during his stint in Milwaukee.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are the only players left on the Bucks from Sanders’ time. He still follows the team closely and keeps in contact with his ex-teammates.
“Usually if I reach out to someone, I get a response,” he said. “It’s all love.”
Sanders has fond memories of his time in the city.
“I’m a really earthy, onfoot person,” Sanders said. “Milwaukee was my first time really experiencing snow. So I was in a wonderland. Now five years of it kind of weighed on me.
“By Year 5, I had my routes. I had a spot on the lake that I would go to after every game. I had a certain spot on the lake. I’d just sit there in my car. I had my favorite tree. I had my trails that I would walk by the lake. I really took it in and had a great experience.”
Sanders lives in California now, spending most of his days working on music and art.
Since Sanders detailed his battles with anxiety and depression, several NBA stars like DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love have also come forward in talking about mental health.
“I think a lot of guys feel a lot better about making decisions, stepping out and saying how they feel,” Sanders said. “And letting it be OK. Letting it be a real thing.
“We’ll look back at this time, 2019, and say ‘We were pretty prehistoric when it came to mental health. There’s a lot we didn’t know, a lot we didn’t tap into.’
“We’ll say that about physical health, too. We’re just getting to the brink of tapping into how many dimensions we really have as human beings. And how much we have to work on inward, more than just what we can see. There’s a lot of things inside of us that need training and need care.”
The past and present will collide for Sanders in Milwaukee.
“I hope to see a lot of familiar faces,” Sanders said. “I know they’re going to be there.”