Boston is getting a BIG3 basketball franchise. Here’s what Ice Cube said about it.
League co-founder Ice Cube spoke with Boston.com about the move.
Boston is one of eight cities slated to receive a BIG3 franchise, the league announced Wednesday morning.
The team will be called the Boston Ball Hogs, and it will be coached by former Celtic Gary Payton.
The BIG3 is a 3-on-3 professional basketball league that was co-founded by entertainment mogul Ice Cube in 2017. For the first seven seasons of its existence, it operated under a touring model with all teams centrally owned by the league. Starting this year, the league is switching to a location-based model.
Speaking with Boston.com in a phone interview, Ice Cube said he has long been impressed by the support the league has gotten 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 Finals MVP. Payton was named Coach of the Year.
“I’m extremely happy,” Ice Cube told Boston.com. “You want to go where people appreciate and understand the game. The BIG3 is its own sport. It’s different from 5 on 5. 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.”
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 out 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 three points.
The season is set to begin on June 14th. The other franchises will be located in Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, the DMV (Washington D.C., Maryland & Virginia metro area), Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami. The league 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 first-hand the power of theirfanbases.”
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,” said BIG3 Co-CEO Jeff Kwatinetz. “We’ve found a way to overcome that challenge for season eight, and are therefore debuting all new teams, every one of which represents a city.”
BIG3 commissioner Clyde Drexler, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Famer, said he 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,” said Drexler. “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 expansion markets in 2026.
“It’s a bigger fanbase,” Ice Cube 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.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com