Former NWA member and Hollywood executive O’Shea Jackson, known to hip-hop fans as Ice Cube, has announced that his professional 3-on-3 basketball league, BIG3, has become location-based, starting this season, which starts June 14, 2025.
The league, which has been in existence since 2017, was founded by Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. It became a league for mostly former NBA players to participate in their sport without the rigors of the full-court 5-player teams they had become accustomed to. Although the games were played throughout the country, each team, typically coached by legendary basketball players, was not connected to a city and played the games in the same arenas throughout the BIG3 season.
Now, beginning this summer, each team will be associated with a city. The eight-team league will now represent teams from Boston, Mass.; Chicago, Ill.; Dallas, Tex.; Detroit, Mich.; the DMV metropolitan area (Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia); Houston, Tex.; Los Angeles, Calif.; and Miami, Fla. There are lans to possibly add four more teams next year.
Season 8!!! It’s #SummerInTheCity tune in as we unveil new teams, fresh cities, superstar players, and more. Don’t miss the action—stay tuned for the biggest season yet! @icecube @JeffKwatinetz pic.twitter.com/w0kxZxHId5
— BIG3 (@thebig3) March 26, 2025
“This is a landmark moment in our league,” said BIG3 Co-CEO Ice Cube in a written statement. “These cities have shown up for us year after year, and we are honored to represent and reward those fans with a new franchise of their own. The basketball energy in these cities is unmatched, and we’ve seen first-hand the power of their fanbases. Transitioning to a full city-based model for this season is another marker of the league’s continued exponential growth, and fans can expect an increased talent pool and a more competitive style of game than ever before. And this is just the beginning; we hope to add four additional expansion markets in 2026. Basing teams in these fantastic cities for the first time is a privilege, and we know that these teams will represent their local fans to the highest ability and provide the best 3-on-3 basketball in the world for years to come.”
The teams are listed below with the head coaches:
Boston Ball Hogs – Coached by Gary Payton
Chicago Triplets – Coach To Be Announced
Dallas Power – Coached by Nancy Lieberman
Detroit Amplifiers – Coached by George Gervin
DMV Trilogy – Coached by Stephen Jackson
Houston Rig Hands – Coached by Calvin Murphy
Los Angeles Riot – Coached by Nick Young
Miami 305 – Coached by Michael Cooper
