LOS ANGELES - - — When Jeff Kwatinetz and O’Shea Jackson, better known as Ice Cube, launched the BIG3 in 2017, the idea of creating a professional 3-on-3 basketball league was anything but guaranteed to be a success.
Nine seasons later, what started as an ambitious concept has evolved into one of the most recognizable emerging sports leagues in the country. It features former NBA stars, Hall of Famers, legendary coaches and a growing international audience. In an interview earlier this year, BIG3 co-founder and chairman Jeff Kwatinetz reflected on the league’s journey, the challenges of building something from scratch and why he believes the best is still ahead.
The foundation of the BIG3 came from a simple question: Why couldn’t 3-on-3 basketball become a professional product?
Kwatinetz and Ice Cube saw an opportunity to take a form of basketball that people around the world already played and turn it into a unique entertainment experience. The result was the BIG3’s Fireball3 format, featuring half-court basketball, a 50-point target and innovative rules designed to make every possession meaningful.
The league’s growth has exceeded even some of the expectations Kwatinetz had when the idea was first created.
Entering its ninth season, the BIG3 now features eight city-based teams and has established television and international distribution. The league averaged roughly 560,000 viewers on CBS during the 2025 season and generated more than a billion social-media views and impressions, numbers that demonstrate how far the concept has come.
But growth has never been simply about putting more teams on the floor.
Kwatinetz discussed the league’s desire to expand its number of teams, increase the number of games and ultimately take BIG3 basketball to markets outside the United States. The league has already played games internationally, including stops in London, Toronto and the Bahamas, while discussions surrounding a BIG3 Asia operation have highlighted the league’s global ambitions.
For Kwatinetz, international expansion is more than another business opportunity. He sees it as a chance to establish 3-on-3 basketball as a truly global professional sport and potentially build toward a World Cup of 3-on-3.
Perhaps the biggest indication of the BIG3’s growth, however, is its planned move into the public markets.
The league announced in June that it had entered into a business combination agreement with Graf Global Corp., with the transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. The deal values BIG3 at approximately $290 million and is expected to provide additional resources for domestic growth, international expansion and other opportunities.
That milestone is especially significant considering how difficult Kwatinetz said it was to build a new professional sports league.
Starting a league means convincing fans, players, coaches, sponsors and media partners to believe in something that does not yet have a proven history. The BIG3 had to create its own identity while also convincing basketball legends that 3-on-3 could be more than a recreational game.
Those legends ultimately became one of the league’s greatest assets.
From Allen Iverson and Joe Johnson to Julius Erving, Nancy Lieberman, Gary Payton and numerous other NBA greats, the BIG3 has attracted some of the most recognizable names in basketball.
That connection to basketball history is personal for Kwatinetz.
During our conversation, he spoke about his love for the game and where his basketball fandom comes from. As a lifelong New York Knicks fan, he also reflected on the dream of watching his favorite team win a championship.
His appreciation for basketball goes beyond the modern game. Kwatinetz explained that some of his favorite aspects of basketball are great defense, physicality and the hard-nosed style that defined much of the 1980s and 1990s.
That philosophy fits naturally with the BIG3, where there is nowhere to hide on a half-court floor. With fewer players, possessions become more physical and individual matchups become even more important.
Kwatinetz also discussed Michael Jordan’s love for basketball and the broader respect the BIG3 has received from legends who understand the sport’s history and competitive nature.
Ultimately, his message to fans who have yet to attend a BIG3 event was simple: they are missing more than basketball.
The BIG3 experience combines competitive 3-on-3 basketball with music, entertainment, recognizable NBA personalities and an atmosphere designed to bring fans closer to the action. The league’s events have become an opportunity to see former stars compete in a different environment while experiencing a product that continues to separate itself from traditional professional basketball.
What began as an idea between two people who believed 3-on-3 basketball could become something bigger has now entered its ninth season with ambitions that stretch far beyond the United States.
For Kwatinetz, the BIG3’s journey is not about proving that the original idea worked. It is about showing just how much bigger that idea can become.
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