Updated Big3 Championship Odds
The BIG3 is a professional 3-on-3 traveling basketball league that will feature eight teams of former NBA legends and players in an eight-game regular season. This league was formed on January 11 by famous rapper and actor Ice Cube.
League founder Ice Cube and commissioner Roger Mason recently announced that the games will be broadcast on FOX and FS1 and it should be a huge draw, as the idea of former NBA stars playing competitive basketball once again is highly intriguing.
The BIG3 games will be played every Saturday, starting on June 25, as part of a quadruple-header, which means that all eight teams will be in action. The BIG3 playoffs consist of semifinal matchups on August 20 before a championship game is played on August 26.
The BIG3 rules are unique, to say the least. These games will be played on a half court, four-point shots are available and players won’t foul out or be punished with defensive three-second violations. The halftime of the BIG3 games starts once one of the teams scores 30 points and the games will end when a team scores 60 points.
A BIG3 player combine was held on April 29, followed by a player draft the next day, when all team captains and co-captains, including Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, Jermaine O’Neal, Rashard Lewis, Kenyon Martin, Mike Bibby, Corey Maggette and Brian Scalabrine selected 24 players from a group of 70.
Trilogy had the first pick in the BIG3 Draft and they used it to take former North Carolina star and Timberwolves and Kings player Rashad McCants, but to the surprise of many, well-known former NBA players like Steve Francis, Joe Smith, Earl Boykins, Kendall Gill, Smush Parker, Kareem Rush, D.J. Mbenga and Al Thornton went undrafted,
Here’s the full roster for each team:
3’s Company
Captain: Allen Iverson
Other players: Dermarr Johnson (co-captain), Andre Owens, Mike Sweetney, Ruben Patterson
Head coach: Allen Iverson
BIG3 Championship Odds: +450
Killer 3s
Captain: Chauncey Billups
Other players: Stephen Jackson (co-captain) Reggie Evans, Larry Hughes, Brian Cook
Head coach: Charles Oakley
BIG3 Championship Odds: +450
Tri-State
Captain: Jermaine O’Neal
Other players: Bonzi Wells (co-captain), Xavier Silas, Lee Nailon, Mike James
Head coach: Julius Erving
BIG3 Championship Odds: +500
3 Headed Monsters
Captain: Rashard Lewis
Other players: Jason Williams (co-captain), Kwame Brown, Eddie Basden, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Head coach: Gary Payton
BIG3 Championship Odds: +600
Trilogy
Captain: Kenyon Martin
Other players: Al Harrington (co-captain), Rashad McCants, James White, Dion Glover
Head coach: Rick Mahorn
BIG3 Championship Odds: +700
Ghost Ballers
Captain: Mike Bibby
Other players: Ricky Davis (co-captain), Mo Evans, Marcus Banks, Ivan Johnson
Head coach: George Gervin
BIG3 Championship Odds: +800
Power
Captain: Corey Maggette
Other players: Cuttino Mobley (co-captain), Jerome Williams, Deshawn Stevenson, Moochie Norris
Head coach: Clyde Drexler
BIG3 Championship Odds: +800
Ball Hogs
Captain: Brian Scalabrine
Other players: Josh Childress (co-captain), Derrick Byars, Rasual Butler, Dominic McGuire
Head coach: Rick Barry
BIG3 Championship Odds: Ball Hogs +800
Here you can find the full season schedule for the inaugural BIG3 season.
June 25: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
July 2: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
July 9: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
July 16: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 23: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
July 30: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
August 6: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
August 13: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
August 20: Key Arena, Seattle, Washington (Playoffs)
August 26: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada (Finals)
Once the BIG3 Draft ended, respect sportsbook BetOnline released betting odds on the winner of the first BIG3 championship, with Allen Iverson’s team, 3’s Company and Chauncey Billups’ team, Killer 3’s listed as the co-favorites at +450. Read BetOnline’s review and check their Basketball odds.