BIG3

What BIG3 does

BIG3 is a professional 3-on-3 basketball league founded in 2017 by entertainment executive Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson) and Jeff Kwatinetz, headquartered in Sherman Oaks, California. The league operates a condensed 10-week summer season featuring eight city-based franchises (Boston Ball Hogs, Chicago Triplets, Dallas Power, Detroit Amps, DMV Trilogy, Houston Rig Hands, LA Riot, Miami 305) populated by former NBA players, with the Season 9 championship scheduled for August 22, 2026 in Charlotte. Its core technical and product differentiator is a proprietary game format built around 3-on-3 competition with a signature 4-point shot, supported by sub-brands including the Young3 youth initiative (in partnership with adidas) and the BE WELL community program.

The league distributes content across a multi-platform broadcast stack covering over-the-air television (CBS, BET), subscription streaming (Paramount+), and FAST channels (Fubo Sports Network on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, and Tubi), with over 100 archived telecasts across seasons 6-8 supporting year-round engagement. Distribution is augmented by Ticketmaster for live-event ticketing at major arenas (Intuit Dome, Little Caesars Arena) and a direct-to-consumer e-commerce store at store.big3.com.

BIG3's revenue model is diversified across five streams: broadcasting/streaming rights, corporate sponsorships (Monster Energy in year four, STARTER as official apparel, plus Walmart, Capital One, Merck, Coors, Lowe's, Total Wireless), ticket sales, merchandise, and franchise-rights sales (the LA franchise sold to DCB Sports for $10 million in 2024, with comparable transactions in Miami, Houston, and Detroit). The league is led by Commissioner Clyde Drexler and Chairman Mark King (former Taco Bell CEO) and is preparing to become the first publicly traded professional sports league in the U.S. through a pending SPAC merger with Graf Global Corp at a $290 million pre-money valuation.

Name

BIG3

Legal name

BIG3 Basketball LLC

Website

https://big3.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BIG3 is a professional 3-on-3 basketball league founded by Ice Cube in 2017, featuring eight city-based franchises of former NBA stars competing in a 10-week summer season broadcast on CBS, BET, and streaming platforms. The league sells broadcasting rights, sponsorships, tickets, merchandise, and franchise rights, and is pursuing a SPAC merger to go public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Sports League

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)

akta.pro primary industry

Basketball Leagues (MPAKAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional Live Sports Leagues & Tours (MPAGAMAA), Athlete & Team Sponsorship Deals (Official Partners, Jersey/Kit Sponsors) (MPAKALAA), Licensing, Merchandising & Co-Branded Products (Sponsored Merchandise, Collabs) (MPAKALAE), Franchise Ownership Groups & Multi-Club Organizations (Multi-team owners, holding companies) (MPAKABAJ)

Keywords

• Professional basketball league
• 3-on-3 basketball
• Sports entertainment
• City-based franchises
• Summer basketball season

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Broadcasting Rights: BIG3 generates revenue through broadcasting deals with CBS and BET for over-the-air television coverage, as well as streaming agreements with Paramount+ and Fubo Sports Network. The league airs 16 live games per season across these platforms.
2. Sponsorships: BIG3 earns revenue from sponsorships and partnerships with brands including Total Wireless, Walmart, Capital One, Merck, Coors, Lowe's, Monster Energy (official energy drink sponsor returning for fourth consecutive season), and Starter (official apparel partner).
3. Ticket Sales: The league sells tickets to games through Ticketmaster, with venues including Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. VIP upgrades are also available for purchase.
4. Merchandise: BIG3 sells official league merchandise including hoodies, t-shirts, hats, and 'Bring The Fire' branded apparel through the BIG3 Store (store.big3.com).
5. Franchise Sales: BIG3 sells city-based franchise rights to investors, with the Los Angeles franchise sold for $10 million to DCB Sports in 2024, and expansion discussions for New York, Chicago, Miami, and Houston.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

BIG3 operates a professional 3-on-3 basketball league founded in 2017 by Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz, featuring former NBA players competing in a condensed 10-week summer season from June through August. The league has transitioned from a touring model to a city-based franchise structure with eight teams (Boston Ball Hogs, Chicago Triplets, Dallas Power, Detroit Amps, DMV Trilogy, Houston Rig Hands, LA Riot, Miami 305) and differentiates its game with a proprietary 4-point shot. Revenue is generated through sponsorships, broadcast rights (CBS, BET, Fubo, Paramount+), ticket sales at host arenas, official merchandise, and franchise rights sold to investors.

Product overview

BIG3 is a professional 3-on-3 basketball league founded by Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz in 2017. The league operates as a single unified sports entertainment product featuring city-based teams with former NBA players competing in a condensed 10-week summer season. The core offering includes live games with unique rules (including a 4-point shot), supplemented by merchandise sales through the official store, youth basketball development through the Young3 program in partnership with Adidas, the BE WELL wellness initiative, and multi-platform broadcast content distributed via CBS, BET, Fubo Sports Network, Paramount+, and YouTube. Season 9 (2026) features eight teams competing with the championship scheduled for August 22 in Charlotte.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Young3: 3-on-3 youth initiative with clinics and tournaments in local communities
• BIG3 Be Well

Products and services

• BIG3 Professional 3-on-3 Basketball League
• BIG3 Official Merchandise
• BIG3 Live Event Tickets
• BIG3 City-Based Franchise Rights
• BIG3 Broadcast and Streaming Media Rights

Quantifiable outcome

• 550,000+ average CBS viewers per season and 1 billion+ social media impressions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FuboTV / Fubo Sports NetworkcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 June 2026FuboTV agreement to stream 16 live games for Season 9 starting June 20. Games stream on Fubo Sports Network FAST channel. Partnership includes access to over 100 archived game telecasts from seasons 6-8. Two games broadcast per week.
• Chris HaynesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 May 2025NBA Insider and media personality joins BIG3 broadcast team as sideline reporter alongside Rachel DeMita for Season 8.
• VICE SportsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 April 2025VICE Sports to air 14 hours of live games on VICE TV as part of Season 8 media lineup.
• STARTERcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 April 2025STARTER named official apparel partner of BIG3, including creating new merchandise and uniforms. Deal involves designing full lineup of league apparel and fan merchandise with modern design and league branding.
• Monster EnergycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 November 2024Monster Energy returning as official energy drink sponsor for fourth consecutive season. Long-standing partnership supporting the league's energy and extreme sports image.
• Total Wireless, Walmart, Capital One, Merck, Coors, Lowe'sminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 November 2024New and returning sponsors for Season 8 following the league's most viewed season ever in 2024. Mix of wireless, retail, financial, pharmaceutical, and beverage brands.
• Jesser, Nick Mercs, Summit1G, Other StreamersminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 July 2024BIG3 partnered with leading content creators who shared custom BIG3 streams to more than two million viewers across first five weeks of gameplay.
• GameAbove SportscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 8 July 2024GameAbove Sports, a sports-focused business development and strategic investment entity, purchased the fourth founding BIG3 expansion team with plans to base the team in Detroit for the 2025 season.
• Eric Mullins and Milton CarrollcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 3 July 2024Energy investors Eric Mullins and Milton Carroll purchased the third BIG3 expansion team with plans to base the team in Houston.
• DCB SportscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 10 May 2024DCB Sports purchased rights for the first-ever Los Angeles franchise for $10 million in 2024. First franchise sale under the new city-based model.
• adidascoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 March 2018Multi-year partnership for Young3 youth initiative, hosting 3-on-3 youth clinics and tournaments in local communities. Former NBA star Jerome 'Junk Yard Dog' Williams serves as Young3 President.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Unrivaled: Unrivaled is a 3-on-3 women's professional basketball league founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier featuring top WNBA players in an off-season format. It mirrors BIG3's 3-on-3, condensed-season, former-star positioning and competes for similar off-season sports attention and sponsors.
• The Basketball Tournament (TBT): TBT is a summer single-elimination basketball tournament featuring teams of former college and pro players with a $1M prize. It competes directly with BIG3 for the same summer basketball audience, sponsor dollars, and former-player talent pool.
• Athletes Unlimited Basketball: Athletes Unlimited runs an innovative professional basketball league with a rotating player-led team structure and points-based competition system. Like BIG3, it offers an alternative to the WNBA/NBA model, targets elite women's players, and competes for off-season fan engagement and sponsorship.

Broad incumbents

• Premier Lacrosse League: Premier Lacrosse League is a touring, tour-based professional sports league with media-rights deals and a star-player-driven brand similar in architecture to BIG3. It competes for the same alt-sports sponsorship pool and provides a useful blueprint for a property scaling from media exposure into franchise economics.
• United Football League (UFL): The UFL is a merged spring professional football league formed from the XFL and USFL, combining alternative-league economics, broadcast distribution, and franchise-style operations. It is a comparable alt-sports property with city-based teams, broadcast deals, and SPAC-era capital structure ambitions.
• NBA G League: The NBA G League is the NBA's official minor-league system, fielding development teams affiliated with NBA franchises. While a 5-on-5 developmental league, it competes with BIG3 for top non-NBA basketball talent and a share of year-round basketball media coverage and sponsorship.

Emerging players

• Major League Cricket: Major League Cricket is a U.S.-based T20 professional cricket league backed by deep-pocketed investors (including tech and finance entrepreneurs) that launched with city-based franchises. It mirrors BIG3's approach of using wealthy franchise owners and broadcast distribution to bootstrap an alternative sports property.
• Overtime Elite: Overtime Elite runs an alternative basketball league for top teenage prospects offering professional contracts and a developmental path outside the NCAA. It overlaps with BIG3 in the alternative basketball category and competes for basketball-related media attention and brand partnerships.
• TGL (TMRW Golf League): TGL is a tech-forward indoor team golf league launched with PGA Tour backing, heavy broadcast distribution, and star-player economics. As a recently launched alternative pro league with major-media architecture, it is comparable to BIG3 in structure, ambition, and target sponsor audience.

Others

• Major League Rugby: Major League Rugby is a U.S. professional rugby union competition with city-based franchises that compete for similar alternative-sports sponsorship dollars and broadcast partners. It is thematically comparable to BIG3 as an emerging league property rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/thebig3
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@BIG3Basketball
• Facebookfacebook.com/thebig3basketball
• Instagraminstagram.com/thebig3
• TikToktiktok.com/@thebig3
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big3

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BIG3