The world remains on virtual lockdown amid the coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than a half a million people across the globe. As such, we are wrapping up our third straight week in the United States without any professional sports to keep up us occupied, and needless to say, folks are starting to get a little antsy.
It’s still unclear whether the NBA will resume at all this year, and it’ll likely be weeks before we know anything for certain. To be clear, it’s the least of our worries as hospitals around the country are overrun with patients and panic shopping has left people struggling to find basic supplies.
Still, the people must be entertained. That’s the Big3’s thinking, at least. On Friday, Ice Cube’s 3-on-3 league announced that it was partnering with the producers of Big Brother to create a joint reality show/basketball tournament that would feature quarantined players living together in the same house and competing in a hoops tournament of some sort.
Via Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports:
After receiving a negative coronavirus test result, players and referees will be quarantined in the same Los Angeles-area home provided by the league for the three-week tournament, which will consist of 16 players, sources said.
The tournament could also include some of the world’s best female players, sources said.
The games and the daily lives of players and officials will be captured on camera for added drama and storylines.
The name of the show is tentatively set to be “Big Brother: Big3” and is expected to make its debut the first week of May, sources said.
The fourth season of the Big3 was set to premier this summer, with a rebranded look and feel, but that’s been thrown in jeopardy just like everything else amid the COVID-19 crisis. According to the report, while CBS would seem like the obvious home to house the show given that it broadcasts both the Big3 and Big Brother, another network is reportedly in the mix.
Unsurprisingly, the sheer logistics of the show raise questions about the health and safety of the crew and the players involved, but the report indicates that anyone who breaks the quarantine protocols will be removed from the house. There’s been no date set for its premier, although they are shooting for sometime in May. The BIG3 features several former NBA stars, although it remains unclear who might be tapped to participate at this point.
(Via Yahoo Sports)
