BIG3 Schedule Released as Ice Cube Hypes 2026 Season as 'Basketball Heaven' in B/R Interview

Let the pressure cooker of the BIG3 season begin.

With a condensed schedule of 13 different dates running throughout the summer starting in Los Angeles on June 20, the stakes are high for every single game in the fight for positioning in the standings with a championship as the end goal.

There is no safety net of 82 games to make up ground in pursuit of that trophy, which only figures to add to the excitement level at each of the nine locations that will host the games during the league's ninth season.

"We have great fans throughout the league, and now that we're playing in these cities, we just expect the excitement to grow and grow," actor, music legend and league co-founder Ice Cube told Bleacher Report.

"It's going to be great. We're going to have a great season. This league gets better and better every year. So all basketball fans please support the BIG3 and keep watching in the summer after the NBA Finals are over."

Here is a look at the schedule, which was announced Tuesday:

Photo Credit: BIG3

"If you start off the season and you lose two games off the bat, you're going to have a very low shot of making the playoffs," league president Sean Bannon said of the slate and format. "That's what has made our league so competitive outside of the talent we attract. The length of the season is something other leagues struggle with, but that's one of the most appealing parts of our league and why guys are playing so hard week in and week out."

In April 2025, the league announced the debut of its city-based model, and the eight teams heading into the 2026 campaign are the Boston Ball Hogs, Chicago Triplets, Dallas Power, Detroit Amps, DMV Trilogy, Houston Rig Hands, LA Riot and Miami 305.

Those teams will have the opportunity to add talent before the schedule starts with the combine and draft on Thursday in Las Vegas. The clubs will have three captains locked in and will draft two additional players to round out their rosters following the combine.

That combine will feature more than 100 players from around the globe, including former NBA players such as Sebastian Telfair, former collegiate stars such as Salim Stoudamire and content creators such as one-on-one sensation Lamar Peters.

But Ice Cube has his eye on another new addition who is joining the BIG3 as one of the player captains for Rig Hands.

"Derrick Favors is a great addition to the league," he said of the forward who played 12 seasons in the NBA for the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder. "He's a guy who can really still ball at a high level. We're really excited about him."

With the addition of players such as Favors, it isn't difficult for basketball fans to think about who could be next to join the league. After all, Chris Paul just retired, and there is a long list of other NBA megastars on the back end of their careers such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Russell Westbrook.

The BIG3 proved it is not afraid of a splash when it famously offered Caitlin Clark a $5 million deal before she was drafted into the WNBA, but Ice Cube made it clear any player—legend or otherwise—looking to join the league down the line better be ready for elevated competition.

"They've gotta still want this kind of smoke," he said. "This isn't just pickup basketball. They've got to still be interested in playing at this level and playing a different style. It's much more mano-a-mano in the BIG3. Some guys when they're done in the NBA, they're really done playing basketball.

"We don't want those guys just for their name. We want your game. We want guys who are still hungry and still have a chip on their shoulder and still want to show the world what they've got while they compete with their peers at a high level. They know where we're at. We've been here nine years. We're not hard to find if you really want to ball."

It's not as if there is a shortage of legends in the BIG3.

In addition to players such as Dwight Howard and three-time league MVP Joe Johnson, the list of coaches includes Gary Payton, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Nancy Lieberman, George Gervin, Stephen Jackson, Nick Young and Michael Cooper.

"It's basketball heaven being able to be with your heroes and build something like this," Ice Cube said.

The rapper and actor has developed his own slice of basketball heaven with the BIG3, which he co-founded alongside Jeff Kwatinetz in 2017. The three-on-three league, which encourages trash talk and features four-point shots, is coming off its biggest year yet of viewership numbers and social media engagement as it prepares to jump into season nine.

"Some things have fallen into place exactly as I planned, while some things have been harder than expected," Ice Cube said when reflecting on the journey. "I knew it wouldn't be easy. The hardest part was convincing sports lovers and basketball lovers that this was real and credible and professional three-on-three. 

"When I first started, everybody was snickering and laughing and thinking, 'what the hell is Cube doing?' But they didn't know how much I love basketball. Now we've been able to work out the kinks and make the league incredible."

It also doesn't hurt having a star like Ice Cube attached.

"I've been working with him for six-plus years, but initially when it first started—and it really lasted for almost two whole years—every time I was in a room with him I was still starstruck," Bannon said while praising his partner for his work ethic and willingness to do all the small stuff despite his status as a famous celebrity.

That work ethic has helped build BIG3 into what it is going into year nine, which will feature Miami 305 looking to defend its crown as the reigning champions.

Miami 305 selected Lance Stephenson with the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft, and he teamed with two-time BIG3 MVP Michael Beasley to take home the title. The roster features plenty of NBA experience with Beasley, Stephenson, Mario Chalmers and Reggie Evans, and the rest of the league has to figure out a way to close the gap as they run things back.

"They are in a great position," Ice Cube said. "We're the only league that requires the championship team to run it back with no trades and no draft picks. You've gotta run it back with the same squad. Until a team puts another squad together that can beat what they bring, I don't know who can stop them.

"As sports fans, we go through so many teams where they win a championship and then the next year you don't recognize half the team. That's terrible for fans who climbed the mountaintop with a team and then look up and the whole team has broken up. We want to prevent that. We want to create a standard that you have to beat like it is in heavyweight boxing or UFC. You have to beat the champ to be the champ."

It sets the stage for what could be quite the showdown between Beasley's squad and Johnson's Detroit Amps. The pair have combined for five MVPs and two championships and have been trash talking heading into the new campaign.

"I would consider Joe, right now based on his record, the BIG3 GOAT," Bannon said. "And we'll see if Beasley can make a statement this year and take that title."

The battle for bragging rights begins June 20.