When the BIG3 made its debut in Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon, the stands at Barclays Center were packed with fans looking to catch a glimpse of some of their former favorite NBA players back on the court.
The marquee attraction for the BIG3 is Allen Iverson, even if he doesn’t want it to be that way or plan on playing all that much, but the rest of the former NBA players on BIG3 rosters were plenty ready to show out. DeShawn Stevenson hit a game-winner in the second game of the season for the first major highlight worthy play, and there were plenty of other 35-plussers that made impacts.
Along with thousands of fans, there were plenty of current and former NBA players seated courtside in Brooklyn to watch some of their former teammates and foes play. Among those in attendance was Paul Pierce, who retired from the NBA after this season and is headed to the ESPN booth next year. However, watching all his old buddies out on the court seemed to get Pierce’s juices flowing a bit and he floated the idea that he might consider a BIG3 squad next year.
"I might try to convince @KGArea21, @kobebryant." – @paulpierce34 to @MichaelRapaport
The Truth in the @thebig3 next year? pic.twitter.com/aNfG9zwel0
— FS1 (@FS1) June 27, 2017
“You never know. I might try to convince KG, Kobe and we might try to set up our own team,” Pierce said on the FS1 broadcast. Now, Pierce might’ve just been being nice and saying what the BIG3 would want to hear on their broadcast, but that’s not nearly as much fun to think about.
A Pierce and Garnett reunion would be incredible, and even more amazing if they somehow roped Kobe Bryant into joining a squad. As we saw from this year’s rosters, there weren’t any former stars recently out of the NBA that joined up with the BIG3, so Pierce and Garnett, both just removed from their NBA careers would seem to have an advantage there.
Iverson has been out of the league long enough to go in the Hall of Fame, and others like Chauncey Billups (yet to play and might not at all if he takes the Cavs job) and Stephen Jackson have been doing TV for a couple of years.
For the BIG3 to continue growing, that’s the next step for the league. If they can attract major former NBA stars to actually play more than Iverson is willing, then they can really build on the hype that this first season has generated already.
