Ice Cube’s rising Big3 league is planting seeds with teams in Houston and Miami.
The 3-on-3 league that started in 2017 holds a unique feature allowing fans to purchase stakes in the organization. As they remain open to new investors, the former NWA member’s venture achieved a $10million sale of its first team in May, per AFROTECH.
As Big3 plans to move from a touring format to a city-based model, the first franchise -based in Los Angeles – was sold to a group led by investment firm DCB Sports.
With the aim of selling all 12 of their teams, Big3 went a step closer after locking deals with teams in Houston and Miami, according to Bloomberg.
‘We need to plant our roots in cities so we can be more than a rolling all-star game coming through,’ Ice Cube told Bloomberg. ‘It’s really about growing the sport and the league.’
Ice Cube has sold two teams in his Big3 league as they move towards a city-based format
The purchases come after the rapper offered Caitlin Clark $15million to play in the league
Former Goldman Sachs executive Eric Mullins – who now leads equity firm Lime Rock Resources – is investing in the Houston team with Milton Carroll, the minority owner of the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball.
Meanwhile, real estate executive Heath Freeman is reportedly spearheading the investment in Miami. Both deals are reportedly worth $10m.
‘Big3 is shaping the future of basketball; the game play is dynamic and nuanced and the product on the court appeals to the audiences in this incredibly fast-growing region,’ Freeman said in a press release, according to the Miami Herald.
‘Basketball fans across South Florida can rest assured that this franchise will soon add to our great region’s winning sports pedigree.’
The tour-based 3-on-3 league was founded in 2017 and gained much popularity since
Big3 has sold three of their 12 teams to be based in Los Angeles, Miami, and Houston
The monumental sales of these teams come shortly after Ice Cube called for WNBA rookie sensation Caitlin Clark to join Big3 upon finding out about her $76k annual salary in the league.
The rapper reportedly offered Clark $15 to grace their popular half court competition. Co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz later claimed that Clark’s agents kept her in the dark about the offer.
As expected, Clark went on to become a catalyst in the WNBA’s spiking growth upon her entry, as attendance and viewership records continue to get shattered by her games.
Nevertheless, Big3 has kept their growing fanbase, boasting roughly 14,000 fans at each event and averaging over half-a-million viewers on CBS last season, per AFROTECH.
Clark’s arrival has caused a massive spike in the WNBA’s attendance and viewership numbers
Clark’s third game against Angel Reese became ESPN’s most-watched WNBA game
The second game between the Fever and Aces broke a 25-year-old WNBA attendance record
Big3 has ambitious considerations of upscaling to 16 teams and spreading them as far as London and Toronto.
‘Connecting with teams with cities we believe will unlock a great fan base, loyal fans who will probably follow their teams from city to city. Miami is a beautiful city,’ Ice Cube commented, per the Miami Herald.
‘It’s amazing. It’s a destination for a lot of people. A lot of people dream to come to Miami. It’s a town that if you’re winning, they really, really get behind you.’