Ice Cube’s three-on-three league has added another notable NBA veteran to its ranks, announcing today that former Suns and Knicks big man Amar’e Stoudemire will join the BIG3 for the 2018 season. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Ian Begley.
Stoudemire will become a co-captain for the BIG3’s Tri-State squad, teaming with fellow former NBAers Jermaine O’Neal and Nate Robinson. While O’Neal participated in the BIG3’s inaugural season in 2017, Stoudemire and Robinson are new additions to the league, joining offseason signees like Carlos Boozer, Glen Davis, Baron Davis, Ron Artest, and many more.
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Stoudemire, the ninth overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft, was a six-time All-Star over the course of 14 NBA seasons. In 846 career regular season games, he averaged an impressive 18.9 PPG and 7.8 RPG with a .537 FG%. He nearly replicated those averages (18.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG) in 78 postseason contests.
Although he’s still only 35 years old, Stoudemire hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2015/16 season. The big man spent the 2016/17 campaign playing in Israel before formally announcing his retirement as a player this past September.