The BIG3 is returning for its fourth season this summer, and ahead of the upcoming open tryouts, league founder Ice Cube has announced that there will be major changes in store. Chief among those changes is a complete re-branding of the style of basketball they play.
At its core, the BIG3 is a 3-on-3 tournament, but its format contains so many nuances and unique attributes — the four-point line, first one to 50 wins, use of CBD for recovery, etc. — that they’ve decided it merits a categorization as a whole other sport entirely: Fireball3. And that’s just one of many significant changes.
Cube announced that the league will lower the minimum age from 27 to 22 and that tryouts will be open to athletes not just from other sports, but to musicians and everyone in between. And that includes women as well.
@icecube has confirmed that women will be able to attend @thebig3 open tryouts for #Fireball3🏀🔥
— Khristina Williams (@Khristina2334) January 15, 2020
In a recent interview with Eric Woodyard of ESPN, Cube discussed the rationale behind making such huge changes to the popular summer hoops league.
“We might get NFL players; you never know. Whoever thinks they can ball,” Ice Cube said. “[Musicians] Chris Brown, J. Cole may try out. You never know. Whoever feels like they can ball on this level, it’ll be good to see and look. …
“This is not a publicity stunt. It’s not a charity thing. It’s if you’re good enough, and the coaches, player-captains, co-captains are the one that will be the judge if someone can get to the combine, so you’re going to have to show what you can do.”
Cube and the BIG3 have proven in the past that the ability to perform and stay in playing shape takes priority over name recognition and reputation, as last season they publicly parted ways with high-profile former NBA stars like Lamar Odom, Baron Davis, Bonzi Wells, and Jermaine O’Neal last summer.
Still, there is plenty of star-power to go around, and the BIG3 will most likely benefit from the re-branding and expansion as it heads into its fourth season this summer.
