The 2017 season was the inaugural BIG3 season. The regular season began on June 25, 2017 and ended on August 13, 2017.[1] On August 26, 2017, Trilogy defeated the 3 Headed Monsters 51–46 in the BIG3 Championship game, completing a perfect (10–0) season.[2]

2017 BIG3 season
LeagueBIG3
Sport3x3 basketball
DurationJune 25, 2017–August 13, 2017
August 20, 2017 (playoffs)
August 26, 2017 (championship)
Number of games32 (regular season)
Number of teams8
Total attendance99,187
Average attendance11,020
TV partner(s)FS1 (Tape delay)
Fox (Championship game, Live)
Draft
Top draft pickRashad McCants
Picked byTrilogy
Regular season
Season championsTrilogy
  Runners-up3 Headed Monsters
Playoffs
ChampionsTrilogy
  Runners-up3 Headed Monsters
Seasons

Venues

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Week Date(s) Venue City Notes
1 June 25, 2017 Barclays Center Brooklyn, New York Inaugural venue
Attendance: 15,177[3]
2 July 2, 2017 Spectrum Center Charlotte, North Carolina Regular season
Attendance: 10,651[4]
3 July 9, 2017 BOK Center Tulsa, Oklahoma Regular season
Attendance: 10,000+
4 July 16, 2017 Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Regular season
Attendance: 12,435
5 July 23, 2017 UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois Regular season
Attendance: 9,044
6 July 30, 2017 American Airlines Center Dallas, Texas Regular season
Attendance: 15,000+
7 August 6, 2017 Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky Regular season
Attendance: 8,009
8 August 13, 2017 Staples Center Los Angeles, California Regular season
Attendance: 10,288
9 August 20, 2017 KeyArena Seattle, Washington Playoffs
Attendance: 8,583
10 August 26, 2017 MGM Grand Garden Arena[5][6] Las Vegas, Nevada Championship game

Draft

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The inaugural BIG3 draft was held on April 30, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[7] Twenty-four players were selected across three rounds.

Player selections

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Pick Player Team NBA experience Last team Last played
1 Rashad McCants Trilogy 5 years   Cañeros del Este 2015
2 Andre Owens 3's Company 2 years   BC Hallmann Vienna 2015
3 Reggie Evans Killer 3s 14 years   Sacramento Kings 2015
4 Xavier Silas Tri-State 1 year   Northern Arizona Suns Active
5 Kwame Brown 3 Headed Monsters 12 years   Philadelphia 76ers 2013
6 Jerome Williams Power 7 years   New York Knicks 2005
7 Derrick Byars Ball Hogs 1 year   Delaware 87ers Active
8 Maurice Evans Ghost Ballers 9 years   Washington Wizards 2012
9 Marcus Banks Ghost Ballers 8 years   SLUC Nancy Basket 2014
10 Rasual Butler Ball Hogs 13 years   San Antonio Spurs 2016
11 DeShawn Stevenson Power 13 years   Atlanta Hawks 2013
12 Eddie Basden 3 Headed Monsters 1 year   Franca Basquetebol Clube 2014
13 Lee Nailon Tri-State 6 years   Panteras de Aguascalientes 2014
14 Larry Hughes Killer 3s 13 years   Orlando Magic 2012
15 Mike Sweetney 3's Company 4 years   Urunday Universitario Active
16 James White Trilogy 3 years   Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC Active
17 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 3 Headed Monsters 9 years   Kyoto Hannaryz 2011
18 Dominic McGuire Ball Hogs 6 years   Leones de Ponce 2016
19 Dion Glover Trilogy 6 years   Gaiteros del Zulia 2007
20 Moochie Norris Power 9 years   Yakima Sun Kings 2008
21 Ruben Patterson 3's Company 10 years   Champville SC 2009
22 Ivan Johnson Ghost Ballers 2 years   Reales de La Vega 2016
23 Mike James Tri-State 12 years   Texas Legends 2015
24 Brian Cook Killer 3s 9 years   Chiba Jets Active

NOTES * Last team does not only refer to NBA teams, it also refers to overseas play such as Euroleague, NBL or any other major international league * Last played refers to last year of being active in any basketball league

Regular season

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Week 1 (Brooklyn, NY)

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The inaugural week of games in the Big3 Basketball League took place at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York. It featured four 3x3 basketball games. The winner of each game was determined by the first team to reach 60-points, such that when they reached 60 or more points they led by 2 points or more, half time occurs when one team reached 30 or more points. If a team reaches 60 or more points without leading by 2, the game enters "overtime" and continues until one team leads the other by 2 or more points. During this week, the inaugural game went to overtime.

Game 1 Ghost Ballers 60–62 3 Headed Monsters
Game 2 Tri-State 58–62 Power
Game 3 3's Company 61–51 Ball Hogs
Game 4 Killer 3's 45–60 Trilogy

Week 2 (Charlotte, NC)

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The second week of games in the Big3 Basketball League took place at the Spectrum Center, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The winner of each game was determined by the first team to reach 50-points, such that when they score 50 or more points and they lead by 2 points. Half time occurs when one team reached 25 or more points. The 50-point goal has been kept in place after the 60-point goal made the games a little too lengthy.

Game 1 Ball Hogs 50–44 Tri-State
Game 2 Trilogy 50–37 3 Headed Monsters
Game 3 Power 50–45 Killer 3's
Game 4 3's Company 45–50 Ghost Ballers

Week 3 (Tulsa, OK)

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The third week of games in the Big3 Basketball League took place at the BOK Center, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Game 1 Power 32–50 3 Headed Monsters
Game 2 Killer 3's 51–44 Tri-State
Game 3 Ball Hogs 45–50 Ghost Ballers
Game 4 Trilogy 50–42 3's Company

Week 4 (Philadelphia, PA)

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The fourth week of games in the Big3 Basketball League took place at the Wells Fargo Center, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Game 1 Ghost Ballers 44–51 Power
Game 2 Trilogy 50–43 Ball Hogs
Game 3 Killer 3's 46–51 3 Headed Monsters
Game 4 3's Company 44–51 Tri-State

Week 5 (Chicago, IL)

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The fifth week of games in the Big3 Basketball League took place at the UIC Pavilion, in Chicago, Illinois. Trilogy clinched a playoff berth with a win over Tri-State.

Game 1 Ball Hogs 34–51 Power
Game 2 Tri-State 34–51 Trilogy
Game 3 3's Company 32–51 3 Headed Monsters
Game 4 Killer 3's 46–50 Ghost Ballers

Week 6 (Dallas, TX)

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The sixth week of games in the Big3 Basketball League took place at the American Airlines Center, in Dallas, Texas. 3 Headed Monsters clinched a playoff berth with a win over Tri-State.

Game 1 Killer 3's 50–40 Ball Hogs
Game 2 Tri-State 45–50 3 Headed Monsters
Game 3 Trilogy 51–36 Ghost Ballers
Game 4 3's Company 53–49 Power

Week 7 (Lexington, KY)

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The seventh week of games in the Big3 Basketball League took place at Rupp Arena, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Game 1 Ball Hogs 34–50 3 Headed Monsters
Game 2 Killer 3's 48–51 3's Company
Game 3 Trilogy 50–45 Power
Game 4 Tri-State 51–43 Ghost Ballers

Week 8 (Los Angeles, CA)

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In a repeat of the first weeks games, the eighth and final week of games in the Big3 Basketball League took place at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles, California. The Ghost Ballers and Power clinch playoff berths as the last two in, eliminating 3's Company due to a loss to the Ball Hogs.

Game 1 Tri-State 51–42 Power
Game 2 Killer 3's 41-50 Trilogy
Game 3 3's Company 47–50 Ball Hogs
Game 4 Ghost Ballers 50–33 3 Headed Monsters

Standings

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# Team W L Pct. PF PA GP
1 YZ Trilogy 8 0 1.000 412 323 8
2 Y 3 Headed Monsters 6 2 .750 384 349 8
3 Y Power 4 4 .500 382 385 8
4 Y Ghost Ballers 4 4 .500 383 384 8
5 3's Company 3 5 .375 375 400 8
6 Tri-State 3 5 .375 378 393 8
7 Ball Hogs 2 6 .250 347 403 8
8 Killer 3's 2 6 .250 372 396 8

Notes

  • Z clinched top seed
  • Y clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

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Week 9 (Seattle, WA)

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The first post-season games took place in Key Arena, in Seattle, Washington. 3 Headed Monsters, Power, Trilogy and Ghost Ballers competed in two semifinal playoff matchups, to determine who would advance to the championship game.. The Killer 3's, Ball Hogs, 3's Company, and Tri-State played in two games which determined the lower positions, but did not officially count in the standings.

Game 1 Killer 3's 46–52 Ball Hogs
Game 2 3's Company 51–48 Tri-State
Game 3 (Semifinal) 3 Headed Monsters 50–46 Power
Game 4 (Semifinal) Trilogy 50–39 Ghost Ballers

Week 10 (Las Vegas, NV)

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The league's inaugural championship game was hosted at MGM Grand Garden Arena[6] in Las Vegas, Nevada. A consolation game was also played between the two teams eliminated in the previous week's semifinals.

Game 1 (consolation) Power 39–52 Ghost Ballers
Game 2 (Championship) Trilogy 51–46 3 Headed Monsters

Bracket

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Semifinals
Key Arena, Seattle, WA
Championship
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV
      
1 Trilogy 50
4 Ghost Ballers 39
1 Trilogy 51
2 3 Headed Monsters 46
2 3 Headed Monsters 50
3 Power 46 3rd Place
3 Power 39
4 Ghost Ballers 52

Individual statistic leaders

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Category Player Team Statistic
Points per game Stephen Jackson Killer 3's 21.6
Rebounds per game Reggie Evans Killer 3's 10.1
Steals per game Andre Owens 3's Company 1.0
Blocks per game Dermarr Johnson 3's Company 0.8
FG% Kwame Brown 3 Headed Monsters 63%

Awards

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The league's players voted for the inaugural BIG3 awards, which were announced prior to the championship game.[8]

Allen Iverson controversy

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Allen Iverson's return was highly publicized when Big3 came to Philadelphia. Before the game, Iverson said, "I'm not going to go out there and be the 25-year-old Allen Iverson—you're going to see a 42-year-old man out there, but to be able to do that, for my fans, I thought that would be cool, just to get back out there again [...] for my fans to get that flashback." However, hours before the game, it was announced Iverson would not be playing. Iverson claimed that he did not play due to "advice from my doctor." Iverson's decision was frowned upon by many in the Philadelphia community.[9]

On Sunday, July 30, the Big3 was scheduled to have games being played in Dallas, Texas. Iverson was slated to appear for his team, 3's Company, but failed to show up to the event or notify league officials about his decision. The next day, TMZ Sports posted pictures showing Iverson at a Chicago Area casino on the morning of the scheduled game.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "2017 BIG3 Season".
  2. ^ Jeffrey, Max (August 27, 2017). "BIG3 Final: Trilogy Caps Off Perfect Season with Championship". Clips Nation.
  3. ^ "Jason Williams injures right leg as BIG3 League begins play". ESPN. June 25, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  4. ^ "BIG3 League's week 2 recap". News4SanAntonio.com. July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  5. ^ Originally, the final was scheduled for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas: however, the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor boxing match was later announced at the same date and venue. Promoters and MGM Resorts International, who owns both arenas, reached a compromise to move the Big3 final to the Grand Garden Arena.
  6. ^ a b "3-on-3 pro basketball league founded by Ice Cube". Archived from the original on July 19, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  7. ^ "BIG3 Basketball League 2017 Draft Results and Full Team Rosters". Bleacher Report.
  8. ^ "BIG3 2017 Player Awards". BIG3. August 23, 2017.
  9. ^ "Ice Cube disappointed Allen Iverson didn't play in Big3's stop in Philadelphia". The Washington Post. July 17, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  10. ^ "Allen Iverson Hit Casino Hard Before Blowing Off BIG3 Game". TMZ.