The Big 3 Basketball League is the brainchild of rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube, and for all of it's intriguing marketing boasting names like Allen Iverson, Chauncy Billups, Jason Williams, and Mike Bibby, most will have tuned in not knowing what to expect from an ambitious new project.
It's absolutely clear that something is needed to plug the gap of nothingness once the NBA Playoffs come to an end, a time when a sizeable amount of fans on this side of the world are just starting to really get into consuming basketball, we just didn't expect the push to come from a member of N.W.A.
It's something that you can bank on there being an ESPN 30 For 30 on in about 10 years time, but I've checked it out. And I'm on board.
The league consists of 8 teams made up of squads of 5, and uses 3v3 rules on a half-court with one goal, the ball must be brought back over the three-point line before you can score, first team to reach 60 points wins. It's all quite easy to grasp once you see it in action.
While Allen Iverson was a massive deal in terms of generating buzz for this adventure, he played his first game on Sunday night and was not heavily involved. Instead, the enjoyment in this will come from seeing an exciting and constantly moving 3v3 game from guys that are still capable of putting on a spectacle.
With the Olympics adding the 3v3 format of basketball for the Tokyo 2020 games, the sport could grow over the coming years so it will be interesting to see how it landed when the season concludes, but the Big 3 if nothing else is worth checking out for basketball fans.
Fox Sports 1 carries the television coverage which is bad news for those of us in Ireland, but highlights are available on social media and there is a strong argument that small bites are how it is best consumed.
The games are fun, with players such as 'White Chocolate' Jason Williams proving that he can still ball:
But crucially, the games are also competitive. These are former pros who have not lost that desire to win, and the close proximity of the microphones on the broadcasts make trash-talking an integral part of the experience.
And it's clear that games are going to have big moments. Here's a clip from the final seconds of Power's win over Tri-State, with DeShawn Stevenson hitting a game winner (must win by 2) as the clock ran out:
What is most exciting about this league is the potential.
15,000 people showed up to Brooklyn's Barclays Center to have a look, and personalities like Paul Pierce and James Harden were in attendance, so a lot of people want to see what it's all about. If it's a hit, bigger players are going to want to go out and prove they can still play.
Over in the US they are already talking about Kobe Bryant for future iterations of the league, but while that is a bit too ambitious for the moment, it's clear that they are onto something.
After all, we pitched a very similar idea for the sport of football a few weeks ago, because Ice Cube was right in the trailer for the Big 3 League. We spend years of our life following the progress of sports stars, getting to know them as people as well as players, so the draw of seeing them do their thing again will always pull people in.
If you want to learn more about the league, such as the teams, coaches, and schedule, you can find it all on Big3.com.
