Rapper Ice Cube's Big3, the 3-on-3 pro basketball league, has challenged the country that wins the men’s 3×3 basketball gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
The BIG3 co-founder and CEO issued the challenge on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN and YouTube Friday. During his appearance, he claimed that players from his league are better than the Olympic 3×3 basketball players and challenged the gold-medal winners to a game against all-stars from his league.
“Of course, the NBA is over USA Basketball. That’s one thing that’s an issue with why we don’t have the best 3X3 athletes in the world in Paris. And they have this weird point system that they make these players go through, but they don’t make the NBA players go through it,” said Ice Cube.
Different criteria for 3×3 Olympics
To be eligible for the 3×3 Olympic team, players must meet several criteria, including participating in FIBA-sanctioned 3×3 events. The Big3 league is not FIBA-sanctioned, partly due to its modified 3×3 format.
The real issue with the 3×3 basketball selections involves regulations set by the international basketball federation, FIBA.
To compete, countries must host at least three FIBA 3×3 events registered on FIBA’s digital platform, have a staff member with a valid FIBA 3×3 e-learning certification, and choose at least two players ranked in the top 10 of their country and the other two within the top 50 (or those who have accumulated the required ranking points).
Ranking points are earned by participating in designated 3×3 events, which requires significant time and commitment.
Ice Cube challenging the 3×3 gold medal winners
“So we feel like they should have the BIG3 players in the Olympics. We do have the best 3X3 players in the world, and it’s not even close,” added Ice Cube.
“We’re so confident, Pat, that we want to challenge the gold-medal winners to a game. We can play right before our championship game, in Boston, August 18, we’ll fly them in, and they can play against our all-stars, and we’ll see who’s the best in the world,” he continued.
The Team USA 3×3 team includes just one ex-NBA player, Jimmer Fredette, who was the leading 3×3 player prior to the Olympics. The other three members of the team—Canyon Barry, Kareem Maddox, and Dylan Travis—went undrafted by NBA teams.
McAfee enthusiastically agreed, saying, “Okay, sweet, I’ll put up $100,000 to the winning team.”
“That’s what I’m saying, we need to make this happen,” Ice Cube responded.
Poor performance for Team USA's 3×3 teams
The Americans began this year's Games poorly. As of Friday, the men's team, featuring Fredette, Travis, Berry, and Maddox, holds a 2-4 record in pool play and is in fifth place.
Meanwhile, the Team USA women's 3×3 team, including Hailey Van Lith, Rhyne Howard, Cierra Burdick, and Dearica Hamby, has a 3-3 record and sits in fourth place.
The top two teams from pool play advance directly to the semifinals, while the next four teams move on to play-in games to secure the remaining two semifinal spots.
“We’ll get the players that’s ready to go, ready to represent the United States, and bring some respect, put some respect on the name, you know what I’m saying? We’re not seeing the best out there that we have in Paris, and that’s because of pettiness and politics. It seems like the guys would rather not give the BIG3 credit than bring a gold medal home. That’s more important than this pettiness,” Ice Cube emphasized.
“Okay, well, let’s let this year’s be the thing that changes the future.” McAfee answered.
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