Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson has committed to join the new BIG3 basketball league debuting this summer, and will serve as both a coach and a player, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Wojnarowski first reported last month that entertainer Ice Cube and former NBA player Roger Mason were working together to launch the league, having secured commitments from several retired NBA veterans.
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“I thought of this concept as a fan who got sick of seeing his heroes retire and not play anymore,” Ice Cube said at the time. “A lot of these guys can still play once they retire – just not the back-to-backs or four games in five nights.
“Not only do we get a chance to see these guys keep playing, but we give guys who retired who still got some game – who don’t want to pick up a [microphone] on TV and who don’t want to go overseas to play … some of these guys still want a stage to play on.”
Kenyon Martin, Rashard Lewis, Jermaine O’Neal, Stephen Jackson and Jason Williams were among the former NBA players initially reported to have committed to the BIG3, a half-court, three-on-three professional basketball league. In his latest report, Wojnarowski adds Chauncey Billups to that list of players.
According to Wojnarowski, Iverson will be one of eight dual head coaches/players in the league, which will feature eight teams. In his December report, Wojnarowski indicated that Gary Payton had agreed to be one of the coaches, though it’s not clear if The Glove would be a player as well.
The BIG3 conducted its first official press conference today, fielding questions about the league and introducing Iverson, Lewis, Martin, and Mason (Twitter link via Ian Begley of ESPN.com). A tweet from the BIG3 indicated that the league is expected to launch on June 24, shortly after the NBA Finals end.
So excited this will be great!
I can’t wait!!
Now is there an age limit or requirement to be good or can guys like Ryan Boatright, Shabazz Napier and Thabeet play?
Aye, a fellow UConn fan.
Think it’s the only league they can contribute in! #nonballers
Im hoping to see a lot of guys like that too.. might not tho considering they all have deals overseas, making this a veteran only league by default..
I like the #nonballers hater… guess you dont realize those guys make millions to ball overseas.
I hope all the “I can’t wait” comments were posted with a sense of humor and you’re not really excited about this …. Nothing worse than seeing a bunch of out-of-shape retirees/released players jogging up and down the court casting off three’s and playing less defense than that in the All Star game. Maybe you can award a franchise to the Globtrotters, maybe a team of former WNBA stars or have the ESPN analysts play their counterparts from TNT
Haha, well said..
“a half-court” Reading comprehension is key here.
AI is the GOAT.
Damn good player, not even close to goat.
Yo this is awesome!
At least we know what team won’t have practice.
amazing
I’m looking forward to this but I can’t think of a worse guy to be a player/coach than Allen Iverson.
Latrell Sprewell
Touché
Rodman
Lamar Odom, Michael Beasley,Isaiah Rider
Don’t think it should be a league but more on the lines as a reality show. I think initially it will start off ok but in the long run it won’t work. Society has become dependent on drama filled nonsense shows that it will strive better on that platform. The benefits behind it will reestablish some of the players on a different platform. You will get a chance to see what they been up to since retirement etc…