Ice Cube, the rapper and actor and co-founder of the 3-on-3 pro basketball venture known as the Big3, expressed his displeasure with the NBA and the sports media landscape over the way his league is being covered.
In a video posted Sunday to his Twitter account, Ice Cube, whose real name is O’Shea Jackson, Sr., accused the NBA and mainstream sports media of intentionally excluding his league.
“Some of you may not have realized that I’m not part of the club,” Ice Cube said during the video. “And a lot of you listening to me right here and right now, you are not part of the club either. And what I realized with the club is, what makes them so mad is when you don’t want to be a part of they (expletive) club. That pisses them off. What club am I talking about? I’m talking about the club of gatekeepers that we all got to deal with. You know who they are and they definitely know who they are.”
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What is the Big3?
The Big3, which is set to begin its sixth season Sunday, features 12 teams whose players are mostly former NBA contributors or younger players who are looking to break through. The season spans 10 weeks and tours several major markets in the U.S. The league features several prominent Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame players such as George Gervin, Gary Payton and Lisa Leslie as head coaches.
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The Big3 does not have any partnership with the NBA.
“Now, a lot of people might say, ‘But, Cube, we want to work with the NBA,’ ” he continued. “Really, I don’t give a (expletive) about working with the NBA. What I want them to do, when I say ‘Work with us,’ is to stop working against us. …
“And that’s cool, we can do it ourselves, you know what I’m saying?”
He did not elaborate on what, specifically, he claims the NBA is doing against the Big3.
What else has Ice Cube said about the NBA’s involvement with the Big3?
During the video posted to Twitter, Ice Cube also said he would continue to voice his displeasure over the course of the summer on a podcast tour, while continuing to promote the Big3. Last week, during an appearance on “The Dan LeBatard Show with Stugotz,” Ice Cube specifically targeted NBA commissioner Adam Silver for being an alleged roadblock.
“Really, I think it comes down to Adam Silver,” Ice Cube said I just don’t think he really digs what we’re doing, personally.”
One of Ice Cube’s central points is that the Big3 schedule comes at a time on the sports calendar when there aren’t as many basketball offerings for fans. The NBA, however, has its Summer League which runs from early-to-mid July, and the WNBA regular season is in full swing during the summer.
To help promote the league, Ice Cube has enlisted several sports and pop culture celebrities to appear and perform at events. In October 2022, the league announced that it had extended its broadcast contract with CBS for the 2023 season.
