Year one of the BIG3 is in the books. The inaugural championship was taken home by Trilogy, the squad led by head coach Rick Mahorn with a roster consisting of co-captain Al Harrington, player-captain Kenyon Martin, James White, Dion Glove, and potential future member of the Cleveland Cavaliers Rashad McCants.
While that team consists of a bunch of dudes most NBA fans would know, the league’s star power this year was kind of lacking. Allen Iverson didn’t play as much as most people would have wanted, while Jason Williams got hurt in the first game of the year. There were plenty of other recognizable players — such as Rashard Lewis, Stephen Jackson, Mike Bibby, and Ricky Davis — but the superstar power on the court wasn’t quite there, which is understandable as it was the first year for the league.
The good news is that BIG3 apparently has big aspirations for its second season. According to Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated, some huge names could be on the horizon for the league.
Kudos to @KenyonMartinSr & Trilogy on @thebig3 title. Hearing bigger names next season. @paulpierce34 next? KG? I'd like to see @kobebryant. https://t.co/Qo6wC0MXYJ
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 27, 2017
Ice Cube has tried to recruit two of these players — he has not been shy about the fact that he wants Bryant and Pierce to play in the league starting next season. Ice Cube has also mentioned Lamar Odom as a name he’d like to see in the league next season, while Terrell Owens wants to show what he can do on a basketball (half)court against former NBA players.
We already know that the league will be televised on FS1 again next season, which could make it an even bigger draw for the Kobes and Pierces of the world. If one of the hopes for the BIG3 was that it would be able to pull in a ton of retired NBA superstars who people will buy tickets to watch play, it would appear that the league is on the right track.
