Boston receives one of eight new location-based BIG3 basketball franchises
Ice Cube said he has long been impressed by the support the league has received in Boston.
Last August, the BIG3 held its championship at TD Garden in front of an estimated 10,000 fans. Former Celtic Gerald Green led Bivouac to the title and was named MVP. Bivouac's Payton was named Coach of the Year.
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'I'm extremely happy,' Ice Cube said. 'You want to go where people appreciate and understand the game. The BIG3 is its own sport. It's different from five on five. You want to go where the fans understand the nuances. If you know anything about basketball, then you know you want to have a team in Boston.'
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The BIG3 plays under a unique set of rules. The first team to reach 50 points wins. There are three designated circles on the floor located 30 feet from the rim for 4-point shots. The shot clock is 14 seconds instead of 24.
The league uses a single free throw worth the amount of points of the shot attempt. For example, a player who is fouled on a 3-point attempt takes a single 'free throw' from the top of the key and a make would be worth 3.
The season will begin June 14. The other franchises will be located in Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, the DMV (Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia metro area), Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami. The schedule is expected to be released next week.
'This is a landmark moment in our league,' Ice Cube said. 'These cities have shown up for us year after year and we are honored to represent and reward those fans with a new franchise of their own. The basketball energy in these cities is unmatched, and we've seen firsthand the power of their fan bases.'
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BIG3 co-CEO Jeff Kwatinetz said the league is putting its previous team names and logos on hiatus while it moves forward with new teams.
'While throughout its history the BIG3 has generated millions of fans for the league, we found it challenging to create fans for specific teams that were not aligned with cities,' he said. 'We've found a way to overcome that challenge for Season 8, and are therefore debuting all new teams.'
BIG3 commissioner Clyde Drexler, a Basketball Hall of Famer, believes the switch to location-based teams will make the league even more competitive.
'The league has always attracted players that want to do more — to play harder, to get more involved with their communities, and to get closer to the fans that have supported them throughout their entire careers,' he said. 'Our players and coaches have such deep ties to a number of these cities and getting an opportunity to deepen those connections even further by basing their team in that city is a task they hold in high esteem.'
Ice Cube is optimistic that rooting the teams in cities will help the league grow. He said the league hopes to add four more markets in 2026.
'It's a bigger fan base,' he said. 'We spent seven years showing as much of this game to as many fans as we could get to. Planting our flag makes sense. It's our path to grow.'
Khari Thompson can be reached at
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