As the BIG3 basketball league heads for its eighth season, founders Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz share how they’re reinventing the game to deliver a next-level sports experience for fans and team owners.
What was the inspiration for forming the league in 2017? How has it evolved since then?
The inspiration was that fans deserve more, better quality basketball. We recognized that there was a massive gap in the sports market in the summer and wanted to fill that void, but fill it with an innovative, physical, fast-paced game that was more reflective of basketball culture; and we succeeded. No other upstart sports league since UFC has survived more than five years, let alone through eight seasons, and we are incredibly proud of the exponential growth we’ve driven in the league across those years. This season may reflect that evolution more than ever, as we are transitioning from a fully league-centric model to a city-based model, opening up expansion franchises for sale for the first time. When we tip off in Chicago on June 14, we will be doing so with eight all-new city-based teams in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, the DMV metropolitan area, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami, featuring a roster of some of the biggest basketball talent ever to play the game, such as First-Ballot Hall of Famer Dwight Howard, Born Ready Lance Stephenson, former Sixth Man of the Year Montrez Harrell, 4X NBA All-Star Kemba Walker, and 2024 BIG3 MVP Michael Beasley. Not to mention an incredible roster of hall-of-fame coaches in Julius ‘Dr.J’ Irving, George ‘Iceman’ Gervin, Gary Payton, Nancy Lieberman, and more.
How do you expect the home market model to impact the business of the league?
Shifting to the home market model was the natural next step to continue growing the BIG3. The league-centric model allowed us to successfully popularize the product and build a fanbase for the game, but there were always limits to the level of fandom we could cultivate in one weekend. This shift allows us to meet fans where they are and deepen our investment in these communities. We also have added owners who bring exceptional levels of expertise to the league – they have deep ties to their franchise cities and inventive perspectives that will make a tremendous impact on the business of their selected teams, and the league at large. We have essentially increased business opportunities eight-fold, and still hope to add additional expansion franchises in the future.
What are your expectations with Dwight Howard’s addition to the league?
Our expectations, and the expectations of LA Riot fans, are extremely high. He’s obviously a generational talent who has a tremendous amount of game left to be played, and we are honored that he has chosen to close out his professional career with the BIG3. Whether or not he will be successful remains to be seen, he has some tough BIG3 veterans to go up against, and with eight all-new teams, the field this season is more competitive than ever. We know that basketball fans’ eyes will be on him, the LA Riot, and the BIG3 all summer long.
What does our Cynopsis community not know about the BIG3 that they should?
More than anything, they should know that the BIG3 is here to stay. We continue to provide a strong, diverse, and demographically desirable viewership on linear and streaming that far exceeds that of other summer live sports programming. This isn’t just a passion project or a celebrity-led league, it’s a commitment to changing the landscape of live sports and that’s what you get when you work with us. Our outstanding partners and clients have our full attention and we work to deliver creative and engaging programming year after year. We look forward to sharing more about our offerings and what is in store for season eight during next week’s webinar.
BIG3 season eight tips off June 14 at 3p on CBS and 6p on VICE TV.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
For sneak peeks, check out Cynopsis Trailer Park.
Crime drama “Smoke” launches Friday, June 27 on Apple TV+ with two episodes, followed by one episode weekly through August 15. Created and written by Dennis Lehane and inspired by true events, “Smoke” follows an arson investigator who begrudgingly teams up with a police detective to stop two arsonists.
“Esports World Cup: Level Up” premieres on Prime Video on Friday, June 6. The docuseries goes behind the scenes at the inaugural EWC in 2024, with new episodes dropping weekly.
