Ice Cube is ready for the BIG3 fourth season tip off July 10 in Las Vegas with much excitement to return since the COVID-19 pandemic. Can the church say today was a good day and Yay Yay? This past Friday, Cube spoke with BSO and confirmed new updates to the BIG3 and his idea to partner with CBS show Big Brother.
“When the pandemic happened, we were trying to do the league in the Bubble. We were trying to connect with Big Brother TV show and create a Big Brother BIG3 situation where guys would play BIG3 games to see who stays in the house instead. Crazy little games they usually play. So we had the idea we had the concept…it was ready to go. We couldn’t find the network that was in the position to do it as fast as we needed it to go.”
The pandemic shut down certain states and Cube understood cities like Las Vegas and New Orleans were the ideal spots to give fans a show. Therefore, players aren’t exempt from health and safety protocols if any player test positive for COVID-19.
“It’s a 10-day quarantine. If you test positive, you got to stay away for 10-days and hopefully test negative and be ready to play. So you may miss a couple games so we hoping that don’t happen. But it’s a sport, you know? I think people will adjust. We got a big player pool (BIG3 free agents) where players could step right in. They’re staying in shape and ready to play so you know we always have a big player pool because players have injuries.”
This season, the BIG3 held tryouts in D.C. despite hungry hoopers weren’t chosen. With the political climate changing and opportunity created, Cube acknowledged how he wouldn’t know if the BIG3 would’ve been successful had he tried to create the concept during the 1990s. In the 90s, Cube was fresh off films like “Boyz N Da Hood”, “Friday” and “The Players Club” which propelled his acting career to bigger box office films a decade later.
“I don’t know. I think by being here and being in the game over 30 years, it gives you credibility that makes people you know take a chance on you. It takes a lot of smart people to bring this league together and we all work in conjunction with each other to make this work. I don’t know if I was only a few years in the game would I be able to convince somebody like Amy Trask who was the CEO of the Raiders. Would I be able to convince her to become the chairman of the board of the BIG3,” Cube said. “This is something David Stern should’ve thought of 30-years ago.”
The BIG3 will broadcast live on CBS with a majority of the scheduled games taking place in New Orleans and Las Vegas. The BIG3 Playoffs and championship game will be held at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The defending champion Triplets are aiming for the gold after capturing their first championship in 2019 before COVID-19 shut down the 2020 season. Like Cube 1991 song “My Summer Vacation”, fans will enjoy what this summer brings along with the“Bring the Fire” rule. Cube is a West Coast legend, successful Hip Hop mogul and Black man who’s proven the narrative about Black people changes when we take control of it.