Straight Outta L.A.: Ice Cube's new BIG3 team is the Riot and 'here to shake things up'

A tectonic displacement successful the format of the BIG3 volition bring the three-on-three hoops circuit founded by Ice Cube to Los Angeles this summer.

For the archetypal time, the teams volition each correspond a metropolis arsenic the league transitions successful its eighth play to a location-based model. Teams volition correspond Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Washington, D.C. and — yep! — L.A.

Los Angeles’ squad volition beryllium called the LA Riot. The manager volition beryllium loquacious erstwhile Lakers and Clippers defender Nick Young — a.k.a. Swaggy P — whose Southland roots tally arsenic heavy arsenic those of Ice Cube. Young starred astatine USC and Reseda Cleveland High earlier embarking connected a 12-year NBA vocation that progressive a full batch of shooting, a fistful of assists and a changeless way of lively quotes and hearty laughs.

Young often is a riot.

“I’m ace excited,” Young told The Times. “Right now, we are the third-best squad successful L.A., soon to beryllium 2nd hopefully. We gotta triumph immoderate championships. It’s gonna beryllium fun. Come retired and enactment america this summer. LA Riot — large name. BIG3 is connected the rise.”

Ice Cube recognizes, however, that not everyone volition see the squad sanction a laughing matter. His medium “The Predator,” released successful November 1992, was a pointed hip-hop effect to the L.A. riots aft 4 constabulary officers were acquitted by a Simi Valley assemblage six months earlier contempt being caught connected video beating Rodney King.

In an email to The Times, Ice Cube said helium supports the squad sanction the caller owners came up with.

“They chose the sanction LA Riot due to the fact that it represents the resilience, passion, and unbreakable tone of Los Angeles,” Ice Cube said. “This metropolis is built connected energy, culture, and a thrust to situation the presumption quo — conscionable similar the BIG3.

“The sanction embodies the disruptive quality of the league, the competitory grit of their team, and the heavy transportation they person with the radical that marque up the rich, eclectic and passionate communities of L.A. They’ll accidental it themselves; the Riot are present to shingle things up, bring a caller level of excitement to the game, and springiness this metropolis a squad that reflects its bold identity.”

Ice Cube was a subordinate of the groundbreaking Compton-based rap radical N.W.A. on with Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, MC Ren and and laminitis Eazy-E. He morphed from hip-hop instrumentalist into a mainstream movie and tv actor, manager and producer, and lives successful L.A. with his woman of 33 years, Kimberly Woodruff.

And since 2017 he’s been a league enforcement aft creating BIG3, which plays a abbreviated play of play games involving each squad astatine a fixed location. The Riot, for example, volition big 1 time of 3 oregon 4 games and play the remainder of the two-month play connected the road.

Coaches are the biggest names successful the league, and Young joins a fraternity that includes Naismith Hall of Famers Gary Payton (Boston Ball Hogs), Michael Cooper (Miami 305), George Gervin (Detroit Amplifiers), Calvin Murphy (Houston Rig Hands) and Nancy Lieberman (Dallas Power) — the lone pistillate caput manager of a men’s pro hoops team. Stephen Jackson coaches the DMV Trilogy and the Chicago Triplets person yet to prosecute a coach. The BIG3 commissioner is Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler.

Rosters volition beryllium filled during a BIG3 draught successful May. Many BIG3 veterans played 10 oregon much years successful the NBA, making it a spot younger than, say, the 50-and-over PGA Tour Champions. Rosters are afloat of ballers whose champion days are down them but who tin radiance successful the half-court format.

That’s what Ice Cube, 55, envisioned from time one, but he’s not supra employing selling savvy to rise awareness. Ahead of past year’s WNBA draft, helium offered Caitlin Clark $10 cardinal to play successful the BIG3 for 2 seasons — this successful a wage operation that pays astir players $10,000 per crippled implicit a seven-game season.

The BIG3 has introduced rules and concepts to marque the crippled fan-friendly. Winners are the archetypal squad to 50 points. The three-point enactment is the aforesaid region arsenic successful the NBA, but a longer changeable counts arsenic 4 points. A foul tin beryllium challenged by the “Bring the Fire” regularisation erstwhile per half, with the 2 players going 1 one 1 to find its validity.

Ice Cube expects the L.A. instrumentality basal to thoroughly bask the basketball, and the spectacle.

“L.A. has 1 of the richest grassroots hoops histories successful the world, from legendary leagues similar the Drew to the city’s pro dynasties,” helium said. “The L.A. squad plans to pat into that bequest and make a full-day solemnisation that feels similar a existent vicinity artifact party. Whether it’s partnering with section nonprofits, spotlighting assemblage vendors, artists, and performers, oregon gathering programming that reflects the existent Los Angeles, from the tribunal to the concourse, they mean to marque LA Riot the people’s squad — authentic, inclusive and built for the city.”

Ice Cube founded the BIG3 with his longtime collaborator, media and endowment manager Jeff Kwatinetz. After 7 years of teams being unaffiliated with cities, the BIG3 moved to the location-based exemplary to physique instrumentality loyalty and is selling the franchises to section owners.

The terms tag is $10 million, and 4 franchises person been purchased truthful far, including the LA Riot by Shawn Horwitz, co-founder and president of Alliant Communities, which its website says focuses connected gathering affordable and workforce housing. He besides has acquisition successful sports ownership successful English soccer.

“As a lifelong hoops instrumentality and entrepreneur, I saw an unthinkable accidental to bring the excitement of the BIG3 to Los Angeles — 1 of the top hoops cities successful the world,” Horwitz said successful a statement. “This franchise isn’t conscionable astir the game; it’s astir community, culture, and giving fans a caller mode to acquisition the athletics they love.”

The play is acceptable to statesman June 14 and volition past 2 months, followed by 2 weeks of playoffs. Ice Cube is already looking ahead.

“The hoops vigor successful these cities is unmatched, and we’ve seen first-hand the powerfulness of their instrumentality bases,” Ice Cube said. “Transitioning to a afloat city-based exemplary for this play is different marker of the league’s continued exponential growth, and fans tin expect an accrued endowment excavation and a much competitory benignant of crippled than ever before.”

The adjacent measurement is to spell international.

“We’ve played successful London, Toronto, and the Bahamas successful erstwhile seasons, and are inactive eyeing cities similar London and Toronto for further franchises,” Ice Cube said. “We person besides entered into a concern with the NBL successful Australia and volition beryllium bringing our crippled implicit determination successful November.

“Best-case script for america is to proceed to turn our benignant of crippled and person a fig of BIG3 leagues moving year-round successful antithetic countries astir the world.”