The BIG3 League Returns

The NBA season ended about two weeks ago. The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 4-0. The Warriors swept the Cavaliers in what was arguably an unexpected turnout. Regardless of who won, I didn't expect nor did I want a sweep. As a fan, I didn't want the season to be over so quickly. I wanted a 6 or 7 game series. But it didn't work it.

The NBA Draft was held on Thursday, which temporarily eased my yearning for basketball. I watched the first round and part of the second. However, the draft came and went. I once again needed to fill the void that is watching basketball. The NBA Summer League starts soon in July, but it's only about a week or so long. What was I going to do? Then, I remembered that the BIG3 League started on Friday evening.

The BIG3 League returned for its second year. Last year, the BIG3 held its inaugural season in the summer. Rapper Ice Cube founded the league with Jeff Kwatinetz. They established the league by bringing in players such as Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, Stephen Jackson, and more. The BIG3 League is a half-court, 3-on-3 league featuring former NBA players. Basketball legends such as Rick Berry, Julius Erving, George Gervin, and more are the coaches for BIG3 teams. Last year, Clyde Drexler was a coach, but he is now the commissioner. While the BIG3 is no NBA, it is still fun to watch. And for a basketball fan such as myself, it keeps me tuned in.

The BIG3 is back bigger and better. This year, the games are live. In its first season, they would tape the games on Friday, and air the games on Sunday. Now that the games are live, it adds a bit more excitement to BIG3. They have also added new players to their league, partially due to a draft they held in April. They added players such as Carlos Boozer, Baron Davis, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Drew Gooden, Metta World Peace, Nate Robinson, and Amar'e Stoudemire. They drafted other players such as Ryan Hollins and Quentin Richardson. The new players could potentially add more spark to the league. In yesterday's premiere, some of the new players did just that.

The BIG3 held four games last night. The season opener started with the Ghost Ballers facing the 3-Headed Monsters. The Ghost Ballers are coached by George Gervin, and have Mike Bibby as their team captain. Carlos Boozer and Ricky Davis are the co-captains. Marcus Banks, Lee Nailon, and Mario West fill out the rest of their roster. The 3-Headed Monsters are coached by Gary Payton and have Rashard Lewis as their team captain. He is joined by Reggie Evans and Damien Wilkins. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Kwame Brown, and Salim Stoudamire are their remaining roster.

The 3-Headed Monsters beat the Ghost Ballers 50-48. Despite 21 points from Ricky Davis, the Ghost Ballers couldn't win the game. This game came down to the end when both teams were tied at 48. Abdul-Rauf of the 3-Headed Monsters hit a clutch jumper to win the game. I forgot to mention that the games go up to 50.

The second game was between 3's Company and Killer 3's. Lakers legend Michael Cooper made his coaching debut with 3's Company. Last year, Allen Iverson was the coach and a player of 3's Company. Cooper took on the coaching responsibilities and won in his debut. His team beat Killer 3's 51-30. DeMarr Johnson is the captain of 3's Company, and he is joined by two new co-captains. Baron Davis and Drew Gooden are the new co-captains. They are joined by Derrick Byars, Andre Emmett, and Jason Maxiell. Baron Davis finished the game with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Davis was impressive in his debut and I hope to see more from him.

The third game was between the Ball Hogs and Power. Power, coached by Nancy Lieberman, was down early in the game. But, they went on an 11-0 run. They won against the Ball Hogs 51-31. Power received contribution from their three captains. Their captains are Corey Maggette, Cutino Mobley, and Glen Davis. Corey Maggette had 17 points and 9 rebounds. Mobley had 12 points and 4 rebounds. Davis had 11 points and 4 rebounds.

The final game was between Trilogy and Tri-State. Tri-State won this game 51-34. Nate Robinson of Tri-State finished with 10 points and the shot to win the game. Robinson was competitive and even talked trash against the Trilogy players. Tri-State beat Trilogy, who went undefeated last year, and were the BIG3 champs. Now they start the season 0-1.

Overall, yesterday's game were good ones. A few of them weren't close, but they were still entertaining. I will definitely keep an eye on the BIG3 for the next few weeks. For the time being, basketball is back in some way or form. Ice Cube and his BIG3 League is responsible for that. I'm excited to see more.