Iverson gives Ice Cube’s 3-on-3 league a boost
NEW YORK — Ice Cube is not planning an old-timer’s tour. He isn’t interested in All-Star Game intensity.
Players coming out of retirement for his new 3-on-3 basketball league were told they would need to deliver serious competition. Some were turned away when their bodies weren’t up for it.
The product needed to be worthy of a sport that’s so popular around the world that it’s ticketed for the next Olympics.
So when the Big3 debuts Sunday in New York, it will not be a bunch of former players going through the motions. Ice Cube expects them to go allout, perhaps believing they can get another shot at the NBA or maybe even a gold medal.
“I think it’s going to be a treat for the fans and it’s not an All-Star Game,” the actor and entertainer said. “Guys want to win. They want to be champions. I’m not worried about that at all.”
The eight-team league of ex-NBA players, highlighted by Hall of Famer and former MVP Allen Iverson, begins with four games at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It will play on nine more weekends throughout the U.S. and be broadcast on Monday nights on Fox Sports 1, culminating in the Aug. 26 championship game in Las Vegas.
Former players such as Jermaine O’Neal, Rashard Lewis and Mike Bibby are playing captains, while coaches include Julius Erving, Rick Barry, George Gervin, Gary Payton, Clyde Drexler, Charles Oakley and Rick Mahorn. Iverson is a coach and captain. Each roster of five players includes a captain and co-captain.
The league, founded by Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz, got the boost it needed when it landed Iverson. Most of the other players would be classified as NBA journeymen, but Kwatinetz said the game was more important than the name.
“Ultimately, getting names is important. More important is that the competition is great, that people love the basketball,” he said.
Games will be played to 60 points, with halftime when the first team reaches 30. There will be some gimmicks that separate it from the official international basketball version, such as a four-point shot and encouragement of trash-talking.
“Our rules are funner than the FIBA rules. Big3 is going to be the most enjoyable 3-on-3 to watch at the end of the day,” Ice Cube said.
“We’re allowing hand checking. We’re not doing that so the game can be rougher. We’re doing that to ensure great defense so it’s not a dunkfest.”
Lewis was a two-time AllStar who averaged nearly 15 points in the NBA and played in the Finals for the Miami Heat in 2014, his final season. He had wanted to play a little longer in the NBA before hurting his knee, so figured playing half-court would be a perfect way to continue without the wear and tear.
Then he saw how serious guys were when they played preseason scrimmage games and realized he needed to get himself in better shape.
“The competitive nature is always there and I saw that in the … preseason game,” Lewis said. “The first two, three minutes, guys kind of eased into it to get a feel and try to understand how the 3-on-3 is going to work.
“But once guys started knocking down shots or defending you, that competitive nature kicked (in). You have to really play defense because pretty much it’s a wide-open court.”