Ice Cube to Launch New Basketball League for Retired NBA Players

Ice Cube is launching a three-on-three basketball league for retired NBA players called BIG3, which will include Jason Williams, Rashard Lewis, Jermaine O’Neal and more.

The N.W.A rapper is the founder of the BIG3 league, and he’ll be in charge of its planning, development and execution.

“I thought of this concept as a fan who got sick of seeing his heroes retire and not play anymore,” Ice Cube tells The Vertical. “A lot of these guys can still play once they retire – just not the back-to-backs or four games in five nights.

The West Coast rapper/actor is teaming up with retired hooper Roger Mason, Jr. to form the new league. Mason played 10 years in the NBA before becoming the Deputy Executive Director of the NBA Players Association. Now, Mason is slated to be the BIG3’s first president and commissioner. Meanwhile, NBA Hall-of-Famer and Seattle Supersonics legend Gary Payton is already on board to be a head coach.

According to The Vertical, the league will consist of eight teams with five players each, meaning there will be two subs on each side at all times.

“I started to look at three-on-three basketball and wondered, ‘Why isn’t this played on a pro level?’ It’s the most normal form of basketball,” Ice Cube says “And from there it was like, ‘Yo, why don’t we make this happen?’”

Fans who miss watching their favorite players from the early 2000s will be especially pleased with the news.

“Not only do we get a chance to see these guys keep playing, but we give guys who retired who still got some game – who don’t want to pick up a [microphone] on TV and who don’t want to go overseas to play… some of these guys still want a stage to play on,” Cube says.

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