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Now in its eighth season, Ice Cube’s dream of the Big 3 has been realized several times over. Its mission seems to have adjusted over time, but he’s found ways to keep things going. For that, I think he deserves major props. But what once began as a league that showcased some of our favorite household names of the past just didn’t maintain that prospective gravitas.
If you remember, the inaugural season of the Big 3 was heavily promoted to be the return of Allen Iverson to basketball. Although the league sported some other very good fan favorites like Rashard Lewis, many wanted to see “The Answer” in action. Once he did take the floor, it was then realized that Iverson just might not have been ready for real competition. Although there were still some solid talents left in the league, there was a damper that Iverson was no longer involved.
The Big 3 broke ground in its later seasons
One of which was seeing multiple women coaches take the helm as leaders of men. Both former WNBA players Lisa Leslie and Nancy Lieberman have enjoyed Big 3 success as champions. So, the optics of seeing these women do well certainly will influence opportunities for women in the NBA in the future.
Fast forward to the present day, and Big 3 has lacked some star power in recent years with a few exceptions. The inclusion of players like Joe Johnson and Jason Richardson has been such a plus. They both still have game. Seeing NBA champion Stephen Jackson transition to coaching was bittersweet, as he was a joy to watch as well. But he knew what rigors he would be willing to handle in preparation to play another season.
This season is starting a bit differently
Dwight Howard was the big free agent signing heading into season eight. He will be headed to Springfield this fall into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Howard is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and rightfully so. Not to mention, he was wrongfully left off of the NBA’s Top 75 list. That exclusion was, and is, still egregious. In his first game of the season, Howard found himself in a squabble of sorts with Lance Stephenson.
Stephenson, known to be an irritant on the court, wasted no time trying to test Howard’s mettle. Between him and his cohort, Michael Beasley, they turned the volume up on the aggression that the Big 3 prides itself on. They want to be known as an in-your-face brand where you viscerally feel the passion of the league’s players on every play. Beasley’s newfound vocal nature has been interesting. It’s coupled with Howard and Stephenson having a well-documented incident. It has led me to wonder if this is publicity that Ice Cube has been seeking by garnering a new star for this season.
The Big 3 news of the weekend was all about the fight. I didn’t see much coverage of the basketball. I think we went two steps forward and one step back here. Sure, we get the star power of Howard, but are these antics going to drive viewership of the product? As I watched the incident, I thought to myself, players feel way too comfortable behaving this way in this league. I especially feel that way because Stephenson’s reaction was unnecessary.
Contentious energy in sports is needed
The unpredictability is priceless. Still, there are limits to everything. I can’t imagine sponsors getting behind these types of antics on a weekly basis. The second week of play will be telling. The amount of coverage that fight got on social media led me to wonder if this is a part of a larger ploy. We’ll see. But I have a hunch that there’s a thought here that any publicity is good publicity.
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