Big3 Expanding Number Of Teams, Cities For '19 Season

Ice Cube’s Big3 league will expand to 12 teams from eight for the '19 season. The league also will play in 18 cities, with games to be held twice a week in each city compared to once a week in 10 cities over the first two seasons. “It’s time to up the ante a bit,” said Ice Cube. The Big3 did not renew its previous two-year TV deal with Fox that ended in '18 and is looking for a new media partner. “We are not ready to announce who our partner is going to be,” said league co-Founder Jeff Kwatinetz. “There is a ton of interest.”

The league also announced that former WNBAer Lisa Leslie will coach one of the new teams this year, while the player age requirement will be lowered from 30 to 27. Players still must have NBA or pro international basketball experience. Meanwhile, Kwatinetz noted Ice Cube and a group that includes LL Cool J is still interested in bidding on the Fox RSNs. Their interest in the RSN sale was reported last fall.