Ice Cube Thinks The Big3’s Approach Has Had A Positive Impact On The NBA

Ice Cube talked about a wide variety of topics on his People’s Party appearance, but his work in the BIG3 is definitely the most interesting aspect of the episode from a hoops perspective. On the latest episode of People’s Party With Talib Kweli, Ice Cube talks about the importance of 3-on-3 basketball to those that play it and how they worked hard to make the league viable.

Cube talks about the BIG3 starting at the 9:10 mark of the episode and breaks down how its impacted the NBA and what his goals are for the league. Cube said they wanted to find a “business model that worked,” and it’s one that’s influenced the NBA in a lot of ways, too, particularly with adopting similar rules.

“They’ve taken a few of our rules,” Cube said, “The 14 second shot clock once a ball is knocked out of bounds on the offensive side of the ball. In the G League they’re doing one (shot) free throws.”

Some of the other things the league does may not have made the regular season NBA, but Cube thinks the fun perception of the league has permeated what the NBA does.

“Our captains pick the teams that they play on, it’s not a general manager. It’s a captain, a co-captain and a coach. They run the team,” Cube said. “Once we start doing that the next season the NBA had LeBron picking his own All-Star team. Now the stars pick the team.”

For the BIG3, it’s a positive when the NBA decides what they’re doing is worth copying.

“It’s cool because it tells us that we are changing the game,” Ice Cube said. “We are ahead of the curve and we do know basketball.”

Cube also broke down some of the new rules that have changed the BIG3 as it evolves.

The full conversation and interview on the show can be seen above.

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