The Champion Basketball League filed a $250M lawsuit against Ice Cube on Friday for "supposedly poaching hoops stars -- and proprietary ideas -- from the newly formed" league to "boost his own" BIG3, according to Shayna Jacobs of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. CBL Founder Carl George said that Ice Cube and BIG3 co-Founder Jeff Kwatinetz "got close to CBL brass and players only to steal their ideas and goods" after their '14 launch. The lawsuit contends that the CBL and BIG3 "originally teamed up as partners with the goal of creating a mutually-beneficial business startup that one day would compete" with the NBA (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/2).
GOOD START: NBCSPORTS.com's Kurt Helin wrote the BIG3 "exceeded expectations" in its inaugural campaign, as the league "brought some nostalgic names, some physical play, and some 3-on-3 basketball to 10 arenas" around the U.S. The games were "entertaining in person," as the league "averaged 11,000 people in the building every weekend." Ice Cube said, "It was definitely a ‘show me’ year. Some people actually told us they would wait to see how we did this year before they would want to be a part of it. We knew trying to introduce something this new would have people kind of taking a wait-and-see approach." Helin noted that idea "caught on with players quickly." Former NBAer Mike James, who played in the BIG3 in this year, said, "People were trying to see if this was a joke or how serious it is, but now the retired players are seeing this game and they’re excited about what is taking place. So from this year to next year, you’re going to see more familiar names playing in this league, you’ll see more ex-superstars that played the game." Helin wrote stars have "always been what sold the NBA, and the challenge" for the BIG3 is that often Ice Cube was the "biggest star in the building." The "next step for the league is to bring in names that allow Cube to transition away from being the face of the league" (NBCSPORTS.com, 9/4).
