Ice Cube‘s BIG3 League just signed a $10 million deal as they begin transitioning their teams to home markets.
Launched in 2017, the 3-on-3 league had yet to establish geographical ties to any of the teams. But beginning in 2025, there will now be cities tied to the teams – one of which will be Cube’s home of Los Angeles. And the new deal now establishes DCB Sports as the owner of the LA team.
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“This is a historic day for the BIG3,” Ice Cube said in a press release. “We could not be happier to entrust part of our league to Gary [LaDrido, managing partner of DCB Sports] and this seasoned group of sports investors ahead of our most important season yet. We have all-star basketball talent, millions of loyal fans around the world, and we are one of the most viewed sports programs of the summer on CBS.
“Basing our teams in home cities allows BIG3 to engage local communities and fanbases and bringing in ownership groups each with their own sports expertise, business, and capabilities beginning in 2025 will allow BIG3 to grow exponentially. I know that DCB Sports will do right by the people of Los Angeles and together, we’ll continue to change the game.”
Ice Cube’s Big3 Basketball League Sells Its First Team in $10 Million Deal https://t.co/sYmeM1Ztln
— Ice Cube (@icecube) May 10, 2024
The deal follows a failed offer to sign Caitlin Clark to the BIG3 – which Ice Cube and his fellow BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz believe was never presented to her as her agents are allegedly in cahoots with the NBA.
In March, Cube offered the all-time NCAA leading scorer $5 million to play in his three-on-three basketball league, which would make her the first woman to do so. However, she was later picked by the Indiana Fever during the 2024 WNBA draft. Her four-year contract reportedly totals to approximately $338,000 (an average of about $84,500 a year).
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In an open letter penned by Kwatinetz and shared on the N.W.A veteran’s website, the two accused the prodigy’s agents of working for the “NBA mob.”
“From our perspective, these representatives don’t seem to work for an individual client like Caitlin. They seem to work for the NBA mob, as their client list is a who’s who of NBA players.,” it read.
The public statement went on to describe the money she could have made by signing with BIG3, which would be far more than her current contract.
For her part, Clark appeared to brush off the BIG3 offer soon after it went viral online.
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“To be honest, I found out about the Big3 thing at the exact time you all did, and my main focus is on just playing basketball,” she said.
“I honestly don’t talk about those things with really anybody. I have other people that deal with it, and they haven’t said a word to me about it. My main focus is on this team and helping us find a way to beat Colorado and hopefully win another one after that.”
