The Oklahoma Eagle Newswire
BIG3 Co-Founders Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz , and 3’s Company Coach Allen Iverson announced today that former NBA star Baron Davis has signed with the BIG3 and will join 3’s Company as the team’s newest co-captain, alongside DerMarr Johnson. The announcement was made during a special halftime appearance at Baron Davis’ Black Santa First Annual Celebrity Basketball Game Fundraiser in Santa Monica, Calif., which raised funds for the worthy causes supported by The GOOD+Foundation, The Drew League Foundation and Team Rubicon Foundation. The BIG3 supported the event with a generous donation.
“At the end of the day, I just wanna hoop. I really love what Cube is doing. A lot fans have been asking me to play, and AI is someone who has always been a big bro to me,” said Davis. “Hearing about the fun they had this past summer really made me excited to suit up. I have a lot of basketball left, and this is a great opportunity to fill that void I’ve been missing.”
Baron Davis is an entrepreneur, investor, and two-time NBA All-Star and record-holder over a thirteen-year career. Prior to the NBA, Davis was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year as a member of the UCLA Bruins. He was an Associated Press Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-Pac-10 in 1999. He was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
Off the court, Davis is an avid creator and businessman who has founded several corporate entities, including The Black Santa Company, which strives to celebrate cultural diversity, the joy of giving, and the magic of good to help build a brighter, more colorful world through original entertainment publication and production. Their latest venture is the Winter Wonderland Mixtape ( https://empire.lnk.to/TheBlackSantaWinterWonderlandMixtape), which puts a fresh, inclusive spin on traditional holiday music.
Davis joins a 3’s Company team that finished fifth in 2017. Following a sixth-place regular season, 3’s Company beat Tri-State in the fifth place game in Week 9.
The BIG3 added a co-captain roster spot to each team for the 2018 season, allowing teams to sign an additional top player who will be exempt from the BIG3 Draft. The league previously announced Ron Artest has signed as co-captain of Killer 3s.
The BIG3 has announced previously two-year agreements with 23 player captains, co-captains and coaches from the inaugural season, including 2017 BIG3 MVP Rashard Lewis, 2017 BIG3 Champions Trilogy’s Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington and coach Rick Mahorn, Allen Iverson, Corey Maggette, Chauncey Billups, Clyde Drexler, Gary Payton, Brian Scalabrine, Jermaine O’Neal, Charles Oakley, Stephen Jackson, Mike Bibby, DerMarr Johnson, Jermaine O’Neal, Ricky Davis, Josh Childress, Cuttino Mobley, Jerome “Junk Yard Dog” Williams, Bonzi Wells, George “The Iceman” Gervin, and Rick Barry.
The league has also announced that 25 players from the inaugural BIG3 season have signed to the 2018 BIG3 Draft Pool. Among those players eligible are Eddie Basden, Kareem Rush, Hakim Warrick, Ivan Johnson, Marcus Banks, Mo Evans, Paul McPherson, Rasual Butler, DeShawn Stevenson, Kendall Gill, Moochie Norris, Andre Owens, Mike Sweetney, Al Thornton, Ruben Patterson, David Hawkins, Lee Nailon, Mike James, Dominic McGuire, Xavier Silas, Derrick Byars, Desmon Farmer, Brian Cook, Eddie Robinson, and Larry Hughes. Each team will fill their three remaining roster spots at the 2018 Draft.
The BIG3’s 10-week season will tip off on June 22 and air live on Friday nights on FOX Broadcast Network and FS1.
ABOUT BIG3: BIG3 ( www.BIG3.com) is where basketball superstars play. The premier half-court, 3-on-3 basketball league, BIG3 features many of the greatest, most popular and skilled NBA players of all time. Founded by producer, actor and music legend Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz, the BIG3 combines highly competitive, physical, fast basketball and incredible fan experiences. Comprised of eight teams, the league played to huge crowds in ten different US cities throughout the 2017 inaugural season.
ABOUT THE BLACK SANTA COMPANY: ( www.blacksanta.com) The holiday season has a unique and wonderful power to bring so many people all around the world together. For most, the holiday represents hope, peace, giving back, and the coming together of friends and family. Founded by Baron Davis, The Black Santa Company, continue that tradition by celebrating diversity through creating and giving voice to original characters that represent us all and uphold that spirit of goodwill and community. The Black Santa Company provides an exclusive opportunity to engage, entertain, and inspire through curated content, music, and live experiential activations.
