With over 11,000 people in attendance, the BIG3 Tournament came to Duluth, GA, yesterday on August 10, 2018. With celebrities and influencers from 2 Chainz and Wale, the fans continued to get amped up as the night continued. For those that aren’t aware of this league, I advise you get familiar. The BIG3 is a half-court 3-on-3 basketball league consisting majority of retired NBA Players, where each game is held up to 50 points, win by 2. The entire eight-team league was created by rapper/actor Ice Cube and entertainment execute, Jeff Kwattinetz. This league was started in 2017. Most notably, players like Nate Robinson, Amar’e Stoudemire, Mike Bibby, and Ron Artest compete against each other in this league, with legends like Julius “Dr. J” Irving and Charles Oakley coaching them along the way.
The event was held in the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, GA and by the end of the night, it was a major success. Last night’s games included the last set of games before the playoffs, so as far as intensity, the games were pretty competitive as players fought to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
The night kicked off with player co-captain Baron Davis’s team, 3’s Company, and player captain Stephen Jackson’s team, Killer 3’s, going head to head at 7:00 sharp. Exciting the fans, 3’s Company’s Jason Maxiell had a huge putback slam near the end of the game. Stephen Jackson led his team with 22 points and 7 rebounds to secure a 7-point win against 3’s Company.
As more people started to pile in, the crowd continued to get louder and louder as the next game began. Next up was the 3 Headed Monsters vs. Ghost Ballers. Co-captains of the Ghost Ballers, Ricky Davis, and Carlos Boozer did most of the productivity for the team combining a total of 29 points and 8 rebounds. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough, however. 3 Headed Monster’s Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who had the hot hand, as well as Reggie Evans, almost became the first player to record a triple-double in BIG 3 history. Racking up a total of 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists in last night’s 51-37 victory, were the stars of the game as they easily were the stronger team from tip-off.
Starting out the third game of the night, Trilogy and Tri-State went head to head competing for a playoff spot making this game, a very crucial game. After going back and forth for two buckets each, Trilogy went on a 15-0 run, building up a 26-12 lead at the half. Tri-State’s David Hawkins wasn’t going to go out sad as he started a comeback for a 15-4 run shortly after halftime that cut down Trilogy’s lead to 46-40. Al Harrington of Trilogy was ultimately the best player in the game as he secured the game-winning shot. He ended the game with his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Last, but not least, Power went up against the Ball Hogs. Power’s Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Chris “Birdman” Anderson did a lot of damage down low, using their size to their advantage. They started the game with an 18-8 lead with Anderson’s pair of blocks making it very hard for the Ball Hogs to score anywhere in the paint. Josh Childress had a couple 3-pointers to give the Ball Hogs some momentum. Power closed out the game on a 21-6 run, with Birdman had the game-winning layup to secure 50-40 win. Cuttino Mobley had a game-high 18, Glen Davis had 14, while Josh Childress led his team with 12.
The top 4 ranking teams will compete in Dallas next week for the playoffs with the rankings as followed:
- Power (7-1)
- 3-Headed Monsters (7-1)
- 3’s Company (5-3)
- Tri-State (5-3)
Tune into the BIG3 to find out the playoff schedule, as well as news, standings, and schedules. Also, let me know what you think of this new league; is it here to stay?
