• Loading stock data...
Saturday, July 5, 2025

Big3 Brand Comes With Diversity, Inclusion, Mental Health Awareness

Jun 29, 2018; Chicago, IL, USA; An elevated view view of Killer 3s and Ghost Ballers during a BIG3 3-on-3 basketball league game at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
big3-diversity-inclusion-mental-health
Photo Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

The Big3 will open Season 3 on June 22 in Detroit. For those pessimists out there who were rooting for Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz’s league of former professional basketball players to fail, sorry. It’s here and expanding.

The league will go from eight to 12 teams this summer. Year 3 includes a nine-week regular season, with seven weeks featuring two different locations. Along with the playoffs and finals, this means the Big3 will make 18 stops – the league hit 10 stops in both Season 1 and Season 2.

Another big move comes on the business side. Earlier this month, the Big3 introduced new CEO Amit Bajaj, a former partner at investment banking and private equity investment firm Centerview Partners.

“It was measured grow at first,” Bajaj says of the Big3’s business success before his arrival. “They made sure they had some national exposure through Fox. They built the brand with players who the fan base was actually familiar with. These basketball players are elite level talents, they have global followings, they engage with fans and people want to come out and see them in person and view them on TV.”

That was the initial business plan. With Ice Cube at the forefront and names like Julius Erving, Clyde Drexler and Allen Iverson on the payroll, the Big3 had a personality to build on.

READ MORE: 3X3U National Championship Puts a College Spin on Three-on-Three

Last season, after Drexler moved from head coach of Power to league commissioner, the Big3 filled his void with Nancy Lieberman, making her the league’s first female head coach. She led Power to a 7-1 regular season record and a Big3 Championship. In Season 3, she will be joined by Lisa Leslie, who is head coach of expansion team Triplets.

“Look, I’ve had a really great life and career,” Lieberman says. “For me to say this is one of the most magical things that’s ever happened to me, it really is because of the people, the opportunity, the players, everybody who’s embraced the thought of being different. Most of these guys, by the way, have daughters and nieces and sisters. They get it.”

Diversity and inclusion are themes that have materialized within the Big3. Mental health and CBD acceptance are two other topics the Big3 is hitting head-on. Royce White, the No. 16 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft dealt with mental issues during his short tenure in the Association – he only played three games for the Sacramento Kings, his third of four NBA organizations. White felt NBA executives, especially with the Rockets, failed to understand the struggles he experienced with mental health.

But White, 28, who played in Canada from 2016-2018, was the No. 1 pick in this year’s Big3 Draft by Enemies, an expansion team coached by Rick Mahorn. Lamar Odom will also serve as a co-captain for the team. Larry Sanders, 30, who battled his own mental health issues, exiting the NBA with skill and money still on the table, was the No. 3 pick in this year’s Big3 Draft by 3 Headed Monsters, coached by Gary Payton.

“We are all cheering for them,” says Amy Trask, Big3 Chairman of the Board, who previously served as league CEO. Her and Bajaj also note the storylines of these players, which will be a focus on the content side of Season 3. Trask has been at the forefront of progressivism in sports for decades now. In 1997, she was hired as CEO of the Oakland Raiders by Al Davis and held that position until her resignation in 2013, earning the nickname, “Princess of Darkness.”

“To work with men like Cube, like Jeff and Clyde and Amit and our coaches and our players who evaluate everyone on merit and without regard to race, gender, ethnicity or religion for business, should work,” Trask says. If there’s such a thing as ‘Business Darwinism,’ businesses that don’t operate that way should fail because by definition, a business that operates in the other manner is excluding that swath of qualified people. Sorry about the soap box, but it’s just exciting to me and I realized my great fortune.”

While most sports leagues are navigating away from CBD and marijuana, the Big3 is leaning in. In April, the league announced an official partnership with cbdMD, making the brand the official jersey sponsor of all 12 teams.

[mc4wp_form id=”8260″] 

This progressivism is the identify the Big3 has created. That builds a narrative for business discussions. In terms of actual deals being made, Bajaj, Trask and their team are bringing some down the pipeline. Toyota is the new sponsor of the league’s four-point shot, branded this season as the “RAV4-Point-Circle.” Toyota will also be involved with giveaways, hospitality suites and other activations.

Perhaps the most-high profile business move of the Big3’s offseason came with the announcement the TV broadcast will shift from Fox Sports, the partner for Seasons 1 and 2, to CBS Sports for Season 3.

With the CBS move, Bajaj does not expect the style of coverage to change, but the exposure will.

“Fox is obviously a great network,” he says. “They were viewed as a great partner, but now on CBS, we have a substantial number of hours on the main network. CBS is the number one broadcast network in the country and they’ve been so for a long time and they have the best brands in sports by far.”

READ MORE: Nike Aims to Better Support Women’s Basketball with Apparel, Action

With Fox, the Big3 was able to reach into 48 different countries – according to Trask – and Bajaj says part of his job is to keep expanding on that. The league went to Toronto in Season 2, and although the tour will not leave North America in Season 3, Bajaj says going to international cities was “absolutely debated” this year.

“We view there to be enormous potential for this product internationally and you’ll see us announce some efforts related to exploiting the league, the brand and the players,” Bajaj says. “There’s a global thirst for the product in other geographies.”

Bookmark that. In Big3 Season 4, maybe a stop in Beijing, Barcelona or Rio de Janeiro will be in the works?

Those international markets definitely have the basketball desire, but the Big3 is clearly about more than what happens on the court. So they better be ready for that too.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Baseball’s Celebrity Row: Behind MLB’s First-Pitch Ritual

Often planned, sometimes spontaneous, the ritual throw is baseball’s celebrity row.

3,000 Hot Dogs, $20K in Prizes: Behind the Nathan’s Eating Contest

Nathan’s serves up thousands of hot dogs and $20,000 in prize money.

Geoffrey Esper Can’t Catch a Break at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

“Hot dogs is not one of my favorite competitions of the year.”

Everything You Need to Know About EA’s Return to College Basketball Video..

There hasn’t been a college basketball game in more than 15 years.

Featured Today

The Battle Over Wimbledon’s Ambitious Expansion Plan

A classic NIMBY standoff on one of the most hallowed grounds in sports.
Seattle Rough & Tumble
June 28, 2025

Women’s Sports Bars Are on the Rise. Survival Isn’t Guaranteed

Some women’s sports bars are cashing in. Others are clawing for funding.
June 27, 2025

Shitposters Have Taken the Reins of Pro Sports’ Official Voices

Meet the social media pros turning sports teams into internet trolls.
Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) hoists the Stanley Cup after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena
June 26, 2025

Stanley Cup’s International Summer Tour: Rules, Repairs, and Raucousness

No pro trophy tour compares to the NHL’s three-month global victory lap.

UFC’s Vegas Sphere Fight Should Set Records

The MMA fight has big aspirations and a budget to match.
August 13, 2024

Duael’s One-On-One Racing Brackets Are Yet Another Stab at Saving Track

Duael will debut in March 2025 with the inaugural Duael 100.
September 8, 2024

Guardian Caps Make NFL Debut

Multiple NFL players wore Guardian Caps over their helmets Sunday.
Sponsored

Hottest Matchups Following NFL Schedule Release

The NFL released the 2025 regular-season schedule, and anticipation is already building in the ticket marketplace with four months to go.
August 11, 2024

Guardian Caps Have Arrived in the NFL—Ahead of Schedule

Colts star Jonathan Taylor strapped one on for Sunday’s preseason game.
August 5, 2024

How Omega Timing Determined Noah Lyles Won Olympic Gold

Omega touches every corner of the Olympics.
The Adidas ball has changed over the years.
July 25, 2023

The Most Advanced Tech at the Women’s World Cup Might Surprise You

This year’s OCEAUNZ introduces connected ball technology to the women’s game.
Sponsored

Rewriting the Sports Media Playbook

WSC’s highlight automation improved Clemson’s content strategy and overall growth.