The NFL Draft ended on Saturday. One day later, we got a far more important draft: the inaugural BIG3 Draft, which was held in Las Vegas. The BIG3, a basketball league formed by Ice Cube which features now-retired NBA players like Allen Iverson playing 3-on-3, already has eight established team, but there was a sizable draft pool to round out every roster.
Here’s what the teams look like pre-draft:
3’s Company: Player-coach/captain Allen Iverson, co-captain DerMarr Johnson
Killer 3’s: Captain Chauncey Billups, co-captain Stephen Jackson, player-coach Charles Oakley
Tri-State: Captain Jermaine O’Neal, co-captain Bonzi Wells, coach Julius Erving
3 Headed Monsters: Captain Rashard Lewis, co-captain Jason Williams, coach Gary Payton
Trilogy: Captain Kenyon Martin, co-captain Al Harrington, coach Rick Mahorn
Ghost Ballers: Captain Mike Bibby, co-captain Ricky Davis, coach George Gervin
Ball Hogs: Captain Brian Scalabrine, coach Rick Barry
Power: Captain Corey Maggette, co-captain Cuttino Mobley, coach Clyde Drexler
So as you can see, there’s a ton of star power but a serious lack of depth, especially on the Ball Hogs, which have one player and a coach. Well, that’s why we have drafts. This one took place at The Showroom at Planet Hollywood Resort Casino in Las Vegas. Here are the full results, via Nick Angstadt and Joey Devine:
Round 1
- Trilogy: Rashad McCants
- 3’s Company: Andre Owens
- Killer 3’s: Reggie Evans
- Tri-State: Xavier Silas
- 3 Headed Monsters: Kwame Brown
- Power: Jerome Williams
- Ball Hogs: Derrick Byars
- Ghost Ballers: Mo Evans
Round 2
- Ghost Ballers: Marcus Banks
- Ball Hogs: Rasual Butler
- Power: DeShawn Stevenson
- 3 Headed Monsters: Eddie Basden
- Tri-State: Lee Nailon
- Killer 3’s: Larry Hughes
- 3’s Company: Michael Sweetney
- Trilogy: James White
Round 3
- 3 Headed Monsters: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
- Ball Hogs: Dominic McGuire
- Trilogy: Dion Glover
- Power: Moochie Norris
- 3’s Company: Ruben Patterson
- Ghost Ballers: Ivan Johnson
- Tri-State: Mike James
- Killer 3s: Brian Cook
There are some absolutely terrific names in here. I, for one, am stoked to watch Jason Williams and Kwame Brown team up in the pick-and-roll for the 3 Headed Monsters. I am also excited to watch DeShawn Stevenson, because he is DeShawn Stevenson and he’s wonderful. Plus spending the No. 1 overall pick on Rashad McCants – who is only 32 and could really ball back when he was at North Carolina – makes a ton of sense.
But the biggest stunner of the entire draft is that Steve Francis was nowhere to be found even though he was a draft-eligible player. This was despite the fact that he looks to be in pretty good shape based on a few pictures he tweeted out from the league’s combine.
https://twitter.com/SteveFranchise3/status/858449609256914944
I am calling on some BIG3 team to give Stevie Franchise a chance. This may just be the fact that he was really good when I was a child, but I refuse to believe that he cannot get buckets in a 3-on-3 league. There are plenty of other former players who would be fun – the entire list of draftable players, including Latrell Sprewell and Kenny Anderson, can be found here – but the biggest stunner still is Francis.
After the draft, here’s how the rosters look:
3’s Company: Player-coach/captain Allen Iverson, co-captain DerMarr Johnson, Andre Owens, Michael Sweetney, Ruben Patterson
Killer 3’s: Captain Chauncey Billups, co-captain Stephen Jackson, Reggie Evans, Larry Hughes, Brian Cook, player-coach Charles Oakley
Tri-State: Captain Jermaine O’Neal, co-captain Bonzi Wells, Xavier Silas, Lee Nailon, Mike James, coach Julius Erving
3 Headed Monsters: Captain Rashard Lewis, co-captain Jason Williams, Kwame Brown, Eddie Basden, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, coach Gary Payton
Trilogy: Captain Kenyon Martin, co-captain Al Harrington, Rashad McCants, James White, Dion Glover, coach Rick Mahorn
Ghost Ballers: Captain Mike Bibby, co-captain Ricky Davis, Mo Evans, Marcus Banks, Ivan Johnson, coach George Gervin
Ball Hogs: Captain Brian Scalabrine, co-captain Josh Childress, Derrick Byars, Rasual Butler, Dominic McGuire, coach Rick Barry
Power: Captain Corey Maggette, co-captain Cuttino Mobley, Jerome Williams, DeShawn Stevenson, Moochie Norris, coach Clyde Drexler
There is no word on whether teams will have the opportunity to add more players in free agency. The inaugural BIG3 season will begin on June 25 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
