Ownership Group Led by DCB Sports Purchases Rights to First Location-Based BIG3 Team Franchise in Los Angeles

BIG3 Teams Will All Represent Home Markets Starting with 2025 Season

Heading towards its 2025 season launch, the BIG3 announced the first-ever purchase of rights for a BIG3 team to represent a home market. Purchasing the rights is a consortium of investors led by DCB Sports and includes a mix of professional athletes and celebrities. The Los Angeles-based BIG3 team will debut in season eight in 2025. Since the BIG3’s formation in 2017, all teams have been centrally owned and operated at the league level. Season seven will be the final BIG3 season operating under this existing model, and following this summer’s season, all teams will transition to representing home markets.

“My partners and I are thrilled to be joining Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz in professional 3-on-3 basketball,” said managing partner of DCB Sports, Gary LaDrido. “We believe that the BIG3 can shape the future of basketball; the gameplay is dynamic and nuanced and the product on the court appeals to a global audience. I can’t wait to continue to grow this game with this group for years to come.”

The highly successful breakout league expanded from eight to 12 teams in 2019 and plays the professional sport FIREBALL3, an enhanced version of traditional 3-on-3 basketball. Until now, BIG3 traveled to different cities each week, and teams were not associated with home markets. Ownership groups of the first four franchises will be announced prior to this season’s June 15 tip-off in Oakland, followed by at least eight other markets to be named after this season, which concludes with the BIG3 Championship, All-Star and Celebrity games on August 18, 2024, in Boston. Two of the 12 initial markets will be Toronto and London, UK, where the league hosted the 2023 Championship and All-Star games at the iconic O2 arena.

“This is a historic day for the BIG3,” said BIG3 CEO and co-founder, Ice Cube. “We could not be happier to entrust part of our league to Gary and this seasoned group of sports investors ahead of our most important season yet. We have all-star basketball talent, millions of loyal fans around the world, and we are one of the most viewed sports programs of the summer on CBS. Basing our teams in home cities allows BIG3 to engage local communities and fanbases, and bringing in ownership groups – each with their own sports expertise, business and capabilities beginning in 2025 – will allow BIG3 to grow exponentially. I know that DCB Sports will do right by the people of Los Angeles and together, we’ll continue to change the game.”

Over its seven-year history, the league has averaged 14,000 fans in-arena each weekend and another 515,000 viewers on CBS last year. BIG3 successfully attracts historically underserved sports audiences; 50.5% of BIG3 viewers are non-white and 44.5% are female. Live audience demographics mirror those watched on television. The median age of attendees and viewers is the youngest of the five other major sports leagues. Starting this summer, all international games and 50% of non-CBS games domestically will air on X (formerly Twitter).

“DCB Sports is a natural fit to be among the first owners in our league,” said BIG3 president and co-founder, Jeff Kwatinetz. “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. This purchase and transition to city-based teams allow us to be more than just a weekend and to expand the off-the-court parts of our league, such as our Young3 program. We believe this transition will allow us to continue our upward trajectory in fan acquisition as well as to continue to innovate both the game as well as to align our core principles with those of our fans, players and Hall of Fame coaches. I know that this DCB group is truly committed to putting down BIG3 roots in Los Angeles, and I can’t wait to see what we can do together.”

DCB Sports is also invested in TGL San Francisco, which plays in the new golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, and Venezia FC of the Italian Football League. Most recently, they made a strategic investment in the National Thoroughbred League, where they also acquired the Los Angeles Team. Matt Sherman, the former senior director of growth strategy at the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), is joining DCB Sports as a partner and will lead the basketball vertical.