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How The BIG3 Is Faring As It Begins Its Eighth Season
Michael Beasley goes one on one against Wesley Johnson in the first game of the BIG3's season.
Michael Beasley, the second overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, went mano a mano against Wesley Johnson, the fourth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.
That kind of one-on-one showdown is a signature of BIG3 play.
Each team in Ice Cube's three-on-three basketball league can challenge one foul call per half, creating the 'Bring the Fire' situation, and in the first one of the year, Johnson got the better of Beasley, stripping the ball from the 2024 BIG3 MVP.
Profanities and trash talk ensued.
Bring the Fire is not only one of the most intense plays of BIG3 action, but it also adds revenue through its Red Lobster sponsorship.
'Sponsors are the lifeblood of sports,' entertainment industry executive/BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz exclusively shared.
Last season the BIG3 generated more than 25 million impressions for their clients, and several sponsors, including Walmart, Capital One, Merck and Simply Spiked by Coors, have returned.
The Snickers candy logo is displayed on the referees' shirts, and ballboys use Swiffers (made by sponsor Proctor & Gamble) during timeouts. Fans wave foam red claws during Red Lobster's Bring the Fire.
Such product placement is a positive economic sign, but leagues like the NFL and NBA have about 40 to 50 more sponsors than the BIG3.
Nonetheless, Ice Cube is bullish as his league began its eighth year on Saturday.
'I definitely consider it a success,' BIG3 co-founder Ice Cube exclusively shared.
Achieving financial success, though, is difficult for any upstart sports league because of the overhead. Kwatinetz noted that challenge of creating a pro league from scratch is 'not for the faint of heart.'
'We're still early,' he said. 'I mean, it took UFC 14 years to become profitable. Hopefully, it's going to take us eight.'
To help with profitability, the BIG3 added local ownership for this season. It previously had been a traveling road show, going to a different city each summer weekend.
Now based in eight cities, the clubs have been selling for about $10 million, according to a source close to the situation.
That not only grows the financial pie, but Ice Cube and Kwatinetz are also hopeful that having localized owners will serve as a way to further engage those markets.
Another positive is the ratings, which averaged 455,000 viewers on CBS across all 10 weeks and 512,000 when not coinciding with the Summer Olympics last year.
'Our ratings are great,' Kwatinetz said.
The BIG3's 2024 viewership was better than the NHL's 2025 regular season, which averaged 445,000 viewers. The NHL, however, receives an uptick for its playoffs and plays a lot more regular-season games (82), resulting in a bigger cumulative number.
For 2025 the BIG3's first two games each weekend are being televised on CBS, and the second two are on VICE Sports.
Ratings for the Week One games on CBS were an impressive 513,000 despite airing against the U.S Open and New York Liberty-Indiana Fever game, featuring Caitlin Clark's return from injury. The latter is particularly noteworthy because the WNBA was a ratings behemoth, averaging well more than a million viewers during Clark's rookie year last season.
The BIG3 will play most of its games in NBA arenas, including Houston's Toyota Center and Los Angeles' new, cutting-edge Intuit Dome.
But Week One was played in Chicago's Allstate Arena, a stadium with a capacity of 18,500, and official attendance was 7,809. Although the lower bowl of the facility with two-level seating was mostly full, no one sat in the 200 level.
The BIG3, however, did a good job of cultivating a basketball culture for those in attendance. Matas Buzelis, last year's lottery pick of the Chicago Bulls, sat courtside under the baseline, and so did Antoine Walker, the former Boston Celtics star, who grew up in Chicago.
Beasley even flexed and screamed at Buzelis, who laughed it off.
Fan interaction with players has long been a goal of the league. Before his game DMV Trilogy coach/14-year NBA veteran Stephen Jackson took selfies with fans. Dwight Howard did the same hours after he memorably ended his BIG3 debut by getting kicked out after a fight.
'It's funny,' Ice Cube said. 'He was thrown out of his first BIG3 game, but welcome to the BIG3.'
Landing Howard, an eight-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, was a coup for the league.
He is the third Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer to play in the BIG3, joining Chauncey Billups and Allen Iverson, though the latter barely played in the BIG3's inaugural season.
Nearly a decade later, Ice Cube's league is still kicking.
'It's a great product,' the hip-hop star said. 'I still want to improve.'
