What should we expect in the second year of the BIG3? According to Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated, a handful of big names could be on the horizon. Guys like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and if all goes right, Kobe Bryant could suit up in Ice Cube‘s 3-on-3 half court league when it starts back up next summer, giving the league even more star power to go alongside its biggest draw, Allen Iverson.
But beyond those three, there’s a ton of room for the league to expand and make it even more of a draw by adding even more of former NBA stars. Sure, those aforementioned players are great, but what if the BIG3 could add enough star power that every game could feature a must-watch matchup between two guys who are either in the Hall of Fame or will make it to Springfield soon enough?
We decided to break down the players the BIG3 should try to add next year. If that’s not feasible, we’d love to see all of these dudes suit up in the league sometime in the future. As the BIG3 grows, so should its star power, and all of these players would play a part in making that happen.
Bryant, Garnett, and Pierce
Let’s get these three out of the way first. Spears’ report indicates there may be some interest here, Ice Cube has mentioned that he’s tried to recruit Bryant and Pierce, and Garnett looks like he’s kept in killer shape. Even if Kobe doesn’t want to come on board, let’s at least get the two former Celtics on a squad together and, for good measure, please make sure KG is mic’d up every game.
Jason Williams
He was in the league last year, but his season ended after getting hurt in the first game. White Chocolate not being able to play in a half court 3-on-3 league because he got hurt is cruel. Please come back next year, Jason Williams. This is a personal appeal in the event you were considering not playing.
Lamar Odom
Odom is another guy whose name has been floated as a potential addition to the league. Seeing as how he still thinks he could still be playing in the NBA if the last few years had gone differently for him, it’s not a stretch to assume he’d tear it up in the BIG3. A wildly creative 6’11 guy in a half court 3-on-3 league, especially someone who is as insanely talented as Odom? Yes, please.
Hakeem Olajuwon
Let’s get weird. Olajuwon’s ability to ruin people on the low block doesn’t seem like it has gone anywhere, and if anything, his craftiness on the court means he’s had an “old man game” for years. He’d also protect the rim and probably hit some jumpers. Plus seeing as how players work with him all the time, Olajuwon would be a great player-coach in the league, a la Charles Oakley. The downside is that he’s 54, but come on, he’s Hakeem Olajuwon! He rules! As does…
Shaquille O’Neal
…CAN WE PLEASE HAVE SHAQ IN THE BIG3, ICE CUBE? Sure, he’d physically impose himself like it was the easiest thing in the world and put up some insane numbers, but even beyond that, isn’t this a delightful medium for Shaq to do all the stuff that has made him one of the most endearing athletes on earth? Who knows how this would work with his television commitments, but Shaq seems like such a logical fit in the BIG3 that he should go be the face of the league if he can fit it into his schedule.
Tracy McGrady
McGrady is the kind of guy who will be able to score for the rest of his life. If there’s one thing the BIG3 didn’t have this year, it was an established scoring maestro who played in every game and was unguardable. This is the exact kind of thing that McGrady — who despite his impending Hall of Fame introduction is only 38 — could bring to the league. And if the league could get Kobe to join and Iverson to stick around, watching those two and McGrady battle it out for scoring supremacy would be straight out of 2002-03, when these three led the league in scoring.
Vince Carter, Manu Ginobili, and Dirk Nowitzki
If there are three guys who would be most likely to make the NBA to BIG3 jump next season, you’d have to think it’s some combo of Carter, Ginobili, and Nowitzki, no? This is 100 percent assuming that any and all of these guys retire, which may be a stretch — Carter and Nowtizki seem like they’re content to play for as long as possible, while Ginobili just signed a two-year deal to stay with the Spurs. Still, adding any of them fresh off of a lengthy NBA career would be a nice little boost for the league, and watching Carter fly, Ginobili show off his savvy, and Nowitzki doing … well exactly what he does on the court now would make the league a little more.
Rasheed Wallace
Every basketball thing is a little better when Wallace is involved. Remember when he had a cup of coffee as an assistant coach for the Pistons? That ruled. As did, well, every other basketball thing he’s done. Wallace is among the more fun basketball players of the last decade or so, both because of his game and his personality. Even if he never plays in the league, having him go to a few games every now and then and screaming “Ball Don’t Lie” would be a welcomed addition.
