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BIG3 Reportedly Delaying Season Until Fall or Winter Due to COVID-19
May 5, 2020
The BIG3 league is planning to delay its 2020 preseason until the winter or fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to USA Today's Mark Medina.
One source told Medina "it's hard to provide a fixed date" but that league is expecting to stage the campaign.
The regular season was originally slated to begin June 20 in Memphis, Tennessee, and run for 10 weeks, culminating in the championship Aug. 29 in Detroit. The Triplets enter as the defending champions after beating the Killer 3's in the title game.
Medina wrote Zach Randolph, Gilbert Arenas, Joe Johnson, Amar'e Stoudemiree, Greg Oden, Al Jefferson and Nate Robinson have committed to play in 2020. Johnson was last year's MVP after averaging 21.9 points.
Along with the traditional regular season, BIG3 announced in March it partnered with Endemol, which produces the reality series Big Brother, to present a hybrid preseason tournament and reality show.
Upon testing negative for the coronavirus, players and referees will be placed inside a Los Angeles-area home for the entirety of the three-week event. Fans will not only be able to watch everybody interact on the court but also with one another inside the house.
The show was tentatively planned for the first week of May.
According to Medina, BIG3 and Endemol are still working to confirm the list of personnel involved and looking toward August or September to hold the tournament.