BIG3 Basketball League: Live Stream, TV Schedule, Game Rules & Format
The brand new BIG3 basketball league formed by Ice Cube and Allen Iverson is now underway with fans looking forward to the TV coverage on Monday. Diehard NBA fans will be able to cure part of their summer basketball drought by watching BIG3 live streaming online or on television as games take place over the next several months. Among the featured players will be Jason “White Chocolate” Williams, Kenyon Martin, Rashard Lewis, and DeShawn Stevenson. After several weeks of scheduled games in different cities, an inaugural champion will be crowned for this interesting new 3-on-3 style basketball league.
On Sunday, the new league opened with action from New York’s Barclays Center. Bleacher Report indicated that all eight teams were in action for the day in four different games back-to-back. It’s a 3-on-3 league with rules much different than the NBA. For example, players have just a 14-second shot clock to work with in their possessions. In addition, there’s a four-point shot, and the first team to score 60 points is declared the winner. However, that team has to win by at least two points, or the game continues. With such unique rules and familiar faces, it could make for some exciting action over the course of the summer.
Eight teams make up the BIG3 League including 3’s Company with Allen Iverson as captain, Killer 3s with Chauncey Billups as captain, Rashard Lewis’s 3Headed Monster, and Jermaine O’Neal’s Tri-State. There’s also Trilogy with Kenyon Martin as captain, the Ghost Ballers captained by Mike Bibby, and Power with Corey Maggette as the captain. Don’t count out the Ball Hogs either. They’ve got the “White Mamba” Brian Scalabrine commanding the roster which features Rasual Butler and Derrick Byars.
Here’s an animated @IceCube to lay down the game’s ground rules. See how it all goes down tomorrow night, 8p ET, only on @FS1. pic.twitter.com/xiXeYrDMZL
— BIG3 (@thebig3) June 25, 2017
The June 25th portion of the official schedule featured the Ghost Ballers taking on 3 Headed Monsters in the first game. That’s followed by TriState vs. Power and 3’s Company against the Ball Hogs. In Game 4 the Killer 3s and Trilogy will conclude the opening day in Brooklyn. The action returns next weekend when the league hits Charlotte’s Spectrum Center on July 2nd for another batch of four games.
BIG3 League Schedule (6/25)
- Ghost Ballers vs. 3 Headed Monsters
- TriState vs. Power
- 3’s Company vs. Ball Hogs
- Killer 3s vs. Trilogy
The league makes stops in various cities throughout the month of July with Tulsa, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, Lexington, Los Angeles among “regular season” stops. The BIG3 League playoffs start up on August 20th at Key Arena in Seattle, with the Championship Finals set for August 26th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The BIG3 League will have televised game coverage exclusively with the Fox Sports network, although it may not be live. Therefore, fans can catch games on FS1 a day later than the schedule. That includes Sunday’s opening day slate which goes on TV Monday night. To watch the coverage of Big3 basketball live streaming online, viewers will need to have access to the Fox Sports GO website or mobile app on compatible devices. In addition, SlingTV offers a free one-week trial right now to all new customers. The service includes FS1 and FS2 among its middle channel package for those interested.
Fox Sports 1 (FS1) will present three hours worth of action on Monday night starting at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Before that, there will be a half-hour special featuring Allen Iverson and Ice Cube with a look at how the league was created and players were brought together for the teams. There will be more coverage on Tuesday via FS1, as the network continues to cover the league in the weeks leading to the championship.
[Featured Image by Mike Stobe/Getty Images]
