Miami Heat: BIG3 Basketball League full of familiar faces
The Miami Heat may be in their offseason, but the BIG3 are just getting started.
South Florida is no stranger to the Miami Heat Big Three.
But they should also be very familiar with the BIG3.
On January 11, 2017, rapper/actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz assembled their own basketball league, comprised of retired NBA stars playing three-on-three basketball. A draft was held on April 30, with the first season officially beginning on June 25 and running through August 13.
24 players were drafted into eight teams that played a total of 32 games, before the top four squads eventually competed for the championship (from August 20-26).
Trilogy, headlined by Kenyon Martin, took home the 2017 title after going undefeated.
And now they’re hoping to keep their winning streak alive.
The 2018 season tipped off on June 22 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, with the draft having been held on April 12. 19 players were officially selected to join the rest in representing the same eight teams, a handful of them having once played for the Heat.
Birdman
Chris Andersen was selected No. 4 overall by Power, featuring Glen Davis, Ryan Gomes, Corey Maggette and Cuttino Mobley. Coached by Nancy Lieberman, Power went 4-4 last year and made it to the tournament, before getting eliminated 50-46 in the semifinals.
The center has wasted no time in getting acclimated with his new environment, already showcasing two monster blocks versus Team Ball Hogs last Friday.
So it’s safe to say fans should brace themselves for some impressive performances from Andersen this summer.
What’s better? Fellow former Miami member Quentin Richardson was also drafted to Power this season, at No. 10.
Sweet Lew
Then there’s Rashard Lewis, who was in the league last year, and is coming back for a second run with 3 Headed Monsters, alongside Mahmoud Abdur-Rauf, Kwame Brown, Reggie Evans, Salim Stoudamire and Qyntel Woods.
They had a second best record of 6-2 in 2017, beating out Power in the semifinals. But the championship round proved to be too much for them, as they fell short 51-46 to the eventual champs, Trilogy.
Still, Lewis had quite a run with the BIG3 last summer, even scoring 27 points against Ghost Ballers during week one of play.
STAT
Amar’e Stoudamire will also compete in the BIG3 this year, as a part of Tri-State. The rest of the roster features another Heat alum in Jermaine O’Neal, as well as David Hawkins, Robert Hite, Nate Robinson and Bonzi Wells.
Unfortunately however, the team went just 3-6 last season, coming in sixth in the league, and didn’t qualify for postseason play.
Bibby
Perhaps most exciting of all though, is Mike Bibby‘s part in BIG3 action. For starters, the former Miami point guard is now ripped, having caused quite a frenzy on NBA Twitter recently.
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1007449831093108737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbssports.com%2Fnba%2Fnews%2Fformer-nba-guard-mike-bibby-is-suddenly-gigantic-and-twitter-has-taken-notice%2F
A captain of Ghost Ballers, Bibby led the league in both assists (30) and 4-pointers (6), and is ready to do more damage to his opponents.
Next: Miami Heat: What fans can expect from Bam Adebayo in 2018-19
While BIG3 play may not necessarily compare to the Big Three or Miami Heat Basketball in general, fans can still enjoy watching some of their former favorite South Florida stars ball out this summer.