12 Apr
Ice Cube Rumors
Ice Cube wants DeMarcus Cousins to join the Big3 league
Ice Cube: “My man Boogie going overseas. Boogie, come play in the Big3 on CBS, man! Sometimes I feel a little conflicted about asking guys to come to the league when I know they still deserve to be in the NBA. And he’s a guy that deserves to be in the NBA, Isaiah Thomas is a guy that deserves to be in the NBA right, Lou Williams deserves to be in the NBA. So I’ll be a little conflicted about asking them, but if they don’t want you, we do got you! You know, get down for the fans in the league where you can shine and be treated like the superstar that you are.” – Ice Cube
Despite sources close to hip-hop artist Ice Cube’s BIG3 league saying Colin Kaepernick is joining as a new investor, a representative for Kaepernick denied the former NFL quarterback’s involvement and said he is not investing. “It’s just not true,” a representative for Kaepernick said early Thursday.
Sources close to the league claimed that Kaepernick’s investment would allow the league to continue operating. Multiple players with the BIG3 league had been preparing for a potential shutdown, sources told The Athletic. BIG3 is a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league began in 2017 and consists of 12 teams. After the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league restarted in 2021. Team Trilogy — consisting of former NBA players including Jarrett Jack and Amir Johnson, coached by Stephen Jackson — won the league last year.
Shams Charania: Sources: Colin Kaepernick is investing in Ice Cube’s BIG3 league, which was on the verge of potentially shutting down. Kaepernick’s new deal will help the 3-on-3 competition continue operating and growing.
Even before Nigeria’s self-imposed two-year ban from international basketball was announced last month, D’Tigers captain Ike Diogu saw the writing on the wall and joined Snoop Dogg’s Big3 team, Bivouac. Having previously turned down approaches to play in the Big3, a professional 3×3 league founded by rapper Ice Cube, in favour of national team duty, Diogu changed his mind this year and signed on after competing in the Basketball Africa League.
The 38-year-old former Golden State Warriors player is the co-captain of Bivouac, a team partially owned by Snoop Dogg, and coached by NBA legend Gary Payton. “I’ve actually been asked to play [Big3] a number of years. It’s just that with all my national team stuff, I just was never able to actually do it, but this was a year when things worked out schedule-wise, so I figured I’d give it a go.” Diogu told ESPN.
