Inside Ice Cube’s Decision to Sell Ownership of His BIG3 Basketball Franchises

Ice Cube, the veteran hip-hop artist turned sports entrepreneur, is making waves once again in the basketball world. His BIG3 basketball league, known for its fast-paced 3-on-3 format featuring former NBA stars, has recently sold four of its franchises. The teams will now find homes in major cities like Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Houston, marking a strategic move to deepen local engagement and expand the league’s footprint.

Why Is He Selling?

Ice Cube and his BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz have overseen BIG3 since its inception in 2017. Now, with the sale of these franchises, they aim to foster deeper community ties through local ownership.

“DCB Sports is a natural fit to be among the first owners in our league,” said Kwatinetz in a press release. “We are partnering with owners who have deep ties to their cities, bring new perspectives to the table, and are looking to better their communities through basketball; recognizing that sports teams should give back to the communities they represent instead of simply taking from them.”

The move to sell these franchises marks a significant transition from the league’s initial touring format of all teams playing games in the same venue on the same day to a city-based model, set to be fully implemented for the 2025 season. This shift will give owners more control over team operations, further professionalizing the league and potentially expanding its reach to more cities in the future.

This move aims to establish deeper local engagement and foster community ties through local ownership. By anchoring teams in their respective markets, the league can build a dedicated fan base, enhance operational control for team owners, and further professionalize the league.

Additionally, selling the franchises brings in significant investment, with each franchise, as Bloomberg reported, going for about $10 million, which will help support the league’s expansion and growth.

The transition to local ownership is also expected to help unlock local fan bases and solidify BIG3’s position as a staple in professional basketball. Ice Cube envisions a future with 16 teams across two conferences, all under local ownership, enhancing the league’s reach and impact in the sports world.

“We had to make sure everything was as perfect as it could be before we started turning this league over to owners,” Ice Cube told Forbes. Though Ice Cube and Kwatinetz remain in charge of the league as a whole.

“We’re not out there just doing deals with anybody that can write a big check,” Kwatinetz added. “We’re trying to really cultivate an ownership group that the best sports owners in the world would want to be part of.”

Each of the new ownership groups boasts a strong sports background.

The Los Angeles franchise’s rights were acquired by a consortium of investors led by DCB Sports, which also has investments in TGL San Francisco, the new golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, and Venezia FC of the Italian Football League.

The Miami franchise investors are spearheaded by Heath Freeman, a media, sports, real estate, and hospitality executive who also serves as executive chairman of the AVP beach volleyball league.

Eric Mullins, chairman and CEO of the private equity firm Lime Rock Resources and a former NFL player, has partnered with Milton Carroll, a minority stakeholder in the Houston Astros, to acquire the Houston franchise.

The most recent BIG3 franchise deal involves the Detroit team, which has been purchased by GameAbove Sports, a sports-focused business development and strategic investment entity backed by CapStone Holdings Inc. The ownership group, led by founder and chairman Keith J. Stone, includes investments from former Detroit Lions lineman T.J. Lang and NBA Hall of Famer George Gervin.

“We’re extremely happy with the first four owners and their passion for the game,” Ice Cube, who has a net worth estimated at $160 million, told Forbes. “We didn’t want to get guys — billionaires — and this is just a toy that they didn’t really focus on. We want guys who are dedicated.”

Cube says the future for BIG3 is looking bright due to the selloff of the franchises.

“Having owners who can unlock the fanbase in their cities,” Ice Cube said, “is just the next step in our history.”