If There Was BIG3 Basketball Stock, I’d Buy It All

The third season of BIG3 basketball is right around the corner. When it finally arrives in late June, all the hard work and zeal from the league’s early stages until now will be on display in the form of a new broadcast partner (CBS), four expansion teams (Triplets, Aliens, Enemies, Bivouac), and a legitimate influx of star power (NBA All-Stars Joe Johnson and Gilbert Arenas, NBA Champion Lamar Odom, 2007 No. 1 pick Greg Oden).

Ice Cube and company have been patient with the BIG3. Perhaps, more importantly, they’ve maintained an image of stability. It’s not easy when you’re an upstart but they continue proving they’re a sound business and Season 3 is the official payoff — bigger stakes and a chance to expand their fanbase beyond just nichey basketball lovers.

It all starts on June 22nd in Detroit and runs until the championship game at Staples Center on September 1st. When all is said and done, the league will have barnstormed through 18 American cities.

Last year, head coach Nancy Lieberman led Power to their first title, joining Trilogy as the only teams with BIG3 titles. This year, the new 12-team league has several groups with an honest shot at winning. Some because they’re loaded with BIG3 originals who are familiar with the 3-on-3 format, others because they have players still in their primes, and then some with a mix.

The BIG3 lowered their age requirements this year to 27-years old so someone like 28-year-old Royce White, the top pick in the latest BIG3 Draft, can potentially come in and dominate.

Former NBA stars will always bring the eyeballs to the BIG3 but moving younger is a step in the right direction. It’s not a feeder league, and it’s not trying to be, yet, if an overlooked 27-year-old shows out over the summer in the BIG3, he’s likely to get serious NBA or NBA G-League attention. The player gets closer to his lifelong dream and the optics are great for the BIG3, both in terms of press coverage and quality of play.

Personally, I love watching the BIG3 because it gives us quality hoops in the summer and the production value is first-rate. Yes, I’m in the nichey basketball fan category but, like a politician, you need to serve your base. That said, the league will go beyond the Slackie Brown’s of the world this year.

CBS and their family of networks are respected by the public; that goes a long way in the right direction when you’re on the fence about a product. It’s why HBO works so well: if they created it or signed off on it, it’s gotta be decent, right? Even the AAF, which had little star power, did well under the CBS umbrella in a more competitive time of year and the BIG3 is far superior to every aspect of the now-defunct AAF. Additionally, more teams mean more players, which then means more alumni, townspeople, and local press tuning in to see a specific player or two from back in the day — the nostalgia factor is so vital to the BIG3.

Being in the D.C. metro area, I’m confident a lot of people who wouldn’t care otherwise will be keeping tabs on Wizards legend Gilbert Arenas in his first BIG3 season. Now multiply that all by all the other guys who once impacted a city or major college town.

Lastly — and this is sort of like the Arenas example above on a much bigger (and different) level — think about all the non-sports fans who are going to watch and read about Lamar Odom this summer. All those Kardashian stans could be a major boon to the BIG3 in 2019 and beyond, and I’m sure that played a role in Odom getting a guaranteed captain spot. I mean, he just said a few weeks ago in the Los Angeles Times that “ball handling and dribbling is still an issue.”

Either way, Odom is probably the guy I’m most looking forward to seeing so I don’t care if they gave him a pass. But don’t think he’s not going to be a major factor in the BIG3’s growth; he’s No. 1 right now, even if he’s not as smooth with the rock as he once was. He’s a star in the eyes of multiple demographics for multiple reasons, from basketball to brothels to social media and so on.

To the BIG3, Lamar Odom is the prototype of what’s speeding towards them.

Odom, Arenas, and the guys coming in now are really the first big crop of ballers who were relevant when Twitter and social media came into the picture and boosted the NBA to year-long notoriety. Imagine when it’s time for Russell Westbrook or Joel Embiid to join up with the BIG3? The ratings and attention will be insane because NBA stars in this era are more powerful and popular than ever. And someone like Westbrook will actually play because he loves to ball.

This is when the league will really peak, when crossover stars and celebrities are the BIG3 norm.

Ice Cube and all the other ambassadors of the BIG3 are on a train headed in the right direction. They’re using the love of the NBA to their benefit without having to give anything in return and making sure their foundation is solid on the back end — it’s brilliant.

I don’t do stocks and stuff but if there was a way to buy into the BIG3, I’d consider it a lock to make money. It’s in a good spot now and it hasn’t even scratched the surface.