BIG3 Teams Will All Represent Home Markets
Starting with 2025 Season
Today, the BIG3 announced the first-ever purchase of rights for
a BIG3 team to represent a home market. Purchasing the rights is a
consortium of investors led by DCB Sports and includes a mix of
professional athletes and celebrities. The Los Angeles-based BIG3
team will debut in season eight (8) in 2025. Since the BIG3’s
formation in 2017, all teams have been centrally owned and operated
at the league level. Season seven (7) will be the final BIG3 season
operating under this existing model, and following this summer’s
season, all teams will transition to representing home markets.
“My partners and I are thrilled to be joining Ice Cube and Jeff
Kwatinetz in professional 3-on-3 basketball,” said Managing Partner
of DCB Sports, Gary LaDrido. “We believe that the BIG3 can
shape the future of basketball; the gameplay is dynamic and nuanced
and the product on the court appeals to a global audience. I can’t
wait to continue to grow this game with this group for years to
come.”
The highly successful breakout league expanded from eight (8) to
12 teams in 2019 and plays the professional sport FIREBALL3, a
much-improved version of traditional 3-on-3 basketball. Until now,
BIG3 traveled to different cities each week and teams were not
associated with home markets. Ownership groups of the first four
franchises will be announced prior to this season’s June 15 tip-off
in Oakland, CA, followed by at least eight (8) other markets to be
named after this season, which concludes with the BIG3
Championship, All-Star, and Celebrity games on August 18, 2024, in
Boston, MA. Two (2) of the 12 initial markets will be Toronto, CA,
and London, UK, where the league hosted the 2023 Championship and
All-Star games at the iconic O2 arena.
“This is a historic day for the BIG3,” said BIG3 CEO and
co-founder, Ice Cube. “We could not be happier to entrust
part of our league to Gary 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.”
Over its seven-year history, the league has cultivated one of
the most diverse and engaged fanbases across all five major sports,
averaging 14,000 fans in-arena each weekend and another 515,000
viewers on CBS last year. BIG3 successfully attracts historically
underserved sports audiences; 50.5% of BIG3 viewers are non-white
and 44.5% are female. Live audience demographics mirror those
watched on television. The median age of attendees and viewers is
the youngest of the five other major sports leagues. Starting this
summer, all international games and 50% of non-CBS games
domestically will air on X (formerly Twitter).
“DCB Sports is a natural fit to be among the first owners in our
league,” said BIG3 President and co-founder, Jeff Kwatinetz.
“We are partnering with owners who have deep ties to their cities,
bring new perspectives to the table, and are looking to better
their communities through basketball; recognizing that sports teams
should give back to the communities they represent instead of
simply taking from them. This purchase and transition to city-based
teams allows us to be more than just a weekend, and to expand the
off-the-court parts of our league such as our Young3 program. We
believe this transition will allow us to continue our upward
trajectory in fan acquisition as well as to continue to innovate
both the game as well as to align our core principles with those of
our fans, players, and Hall of Fame coaches. I know that this DCB
group is truly committed to putting down BIG3 roots in Los Angeles
and I can’t wait to see what we can do together.”
DCB Sports is also invested in TGL San Francisco, which plays in
the new golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy,
Venezia FC of the Italian Football League, and most recently made a
strategic investment into the National Thoroughbred League, where
they also acquired the Los Angeles Team. Matt Sherman, the former
Senior Director of Growth Strategy at the National Basketball
Players Association (NBPA), is joining DCB Sports as a Partner and
will lead the basketball vertical.
“The BIG3 is the pioneer of the global professional 3-on-3 game,
and the league’s momentum and influence continues to grow each
year; among their fans and the impressive roster of premier 3-on-3
players set to compete this summer,” said DCB Partner, Matt
Sherman. “In addition to building out the Los Angeles
franchise, we hope to help drive innovation within the global
basketball ecosystem and be a catalyst for growth and connectivity
internationally. The BIG3 is the most dynamic blend of culture,
entertainment, and sports, and it’s exciting to see what the league
has in store for this next chapter.”
To learn more about the BIG3 go to BIG3.com and follow @thebig3
on X and Instagram. Tickets for the 2024 season are on sale now at
BIG3.com/tickets.
ABOUT BIG3:
On January 11, 2017, the BIG3 was born. The first-ever
professional FIREBALL3 league is the brainchild of producer, actor,
and music legend Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff
Kwatinetz, who shared a vision of a player-centric league focused
on entertainment and innovation. The BIG3 is a league with no
garbage minutes, where trash talk is allowed, defense is
emphasized, fast-paced action, and where every point – whether it's
a 4-point or 3-point shot – counts. Any given BIG3 team has hall of
famers, icons and trailblazers, and the next best 3-on-3
player.
The league has led the sports industry in diversity and
opportunity, becoming the first professional sports league to
implement a mental health policy, favor CBD as a pain management
alternative to opioids, enlist female coaches of men, and appoint a
black Commissioner in Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, who is also
professional sports first former player serving as Commissioner.
The inaugural CEO was the legendary, incomparable Raider executive
Amy Trask. This January 2024, BIG3 co-founder Ice Cube was honored
at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, where he
received the inaugural Ice Cube Impact Award, acknowledging
individuals making substantial contributions to their community,
the first non-player to be recognized. Founders Ice Cube and
Jeffrey Kwatinetz are missioned to better society as BIG3 pursues
business success while also helping to break down stereotypes,
promote diversity in sports, create opportunities for black, brown,
and female athletes beyond the court, and support the black, youth
and basketball communities overall.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240510214027/en/
Hannah Palacios, hannah@big3.com