13,004 people crowded into the Barclay Center last Friday. The energy was high. The players, coaches and fans were pumped for the Big 3 championship game. The Big 3 is a league founded by Ice Cube, the rapper, and it consists of retired basketball players that get the chance to compete in a 3 vs. 3 style basketball game. The untimed game goes until 1 team scores 50 points and is leading by at least 2 points. Halftime occurs when a team scores 25 points. There are also 4-point zones, placed 30 feet from the basket. If a player shoots from these zones and makes the shot, the team is awarded 4 points. Only in its second season, the league has a total of eight participating teams.

The teams 3’s Company and Power made it all the way to the finals, while Tri-State will go against the 3 Headed Monsters in the 3rd place game. 3’s Company and the 3 Headed Monsters went 5-3 in the regular season, while Power and Tri-State went 7-1. Tri-State is led by 6-time NBA all-stars, Jermaine O’Neal and Amar’e Stoudemire. The 3 Headed Monsters’ captain is NBA champion Rashard Lewis and is coached by Hall of Fame inductee Gary Payton. 3’s Company is led by former Sonic, Andre Emmett, and Baron Davis, while their opponent, Power, is led by NBA champion, Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Corey Maggette.

Big 3 3rd Place

In the high-energy game, the 3 Headed Monsters and Tri-State played teeter-totter with the lead. In the beginning, the 3 Headed Monsters pulled away 15-8 thanks to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, the former Nugget. Adding 12 points, Amar’e Stoudemire brought Tri-State within 2, with the scoreboard reading 20-18. By halftime, the 3 Headed Monsters were ahead 26-24. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf had a team high 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, while Tri-State’s Amar’e Stoudemire had a season high 16 points, adding 3 rebounds. There was only one 3-pointer made and no attempted 4 point shots. After the break, the 3 Headed Monsters had momentum adding 8 points, but David Hawkins helped Tri-State take the lead, 37-34. As Amar’e came back in, Tri-State got up to 43, however the Monsters clawed their way back to 42. Hawkins fed Amar’e a beautiful no look assist for the dunk, which put them 5 points from securing 3rd place. Abdul-Rauf hit a 3 to place the team a point from the win. But Amar’e made a dunk to tie it at 49. Abdul-Rauf then pulled up from the left wing to hit the game-winning 3. He finished with 28 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Amar’e Stoudemire finished with 22 points and 3 rebounds. The 3 Headed Monsters won bronze in the Big 3 Playoffs.

Big Three Championship Game

The moment the two teams have been anticipating for 10 weeks has arrived. You can feel the intensity in the arena. It was time for the Big 3 Championship. Power had an advantage going into the game, since one of 3’s Company’s best players, Baron Davis, was inactive. To start the game, Power and 3’s Company exchanged two 3-pointers and 2 layups. A fight began after Corey Maggette made a jumper and talked trash to Dahntay Jones. It was just a pushing match between multiple players. There were 3 technical fouls in total. Corey Maggette got hot and made a 3 and a jumper to get his total to 10 points. Power pulled away 20-11. Cuttino Mobley took Power to the half with a 3. They were up 25-13.

After the fight, Power went on a 16-6 run. Corey Maggette himself outscored 3’s Company with 16 points. Andre Emmett had the team high 6 points. In the 2nd half, Power extended their lead to 20 with the score 35-15. Maggette had a game-high 27 points. His 3 put them 10 points from the championship. Quentin Richardson iched them closer with another 3 from the corner. Cuttino’s free throws brought them to 45 points. Maggette’s layup got them 3 points from the championship. 3’s Company got to 34 while Power missed several 3 pointers. A pick and roll from “Big Baby” Davis got them 1 point from winning the 2018 Big 3 Championship.  3’s Company could only dream of a comeback, being down 38-49. Emmett made a 3 point play to make it 41-49. He put them within 6. Cuttino Mobley made the game-winning pull-up jumper from the right wing to win the championship. The score was 51-43.

As the players celebrated and put their hats and t-shirts on, they were still in disbelief that they were the 2018 BIG 3 Champions. Corey Maggette, the championship MVP, scored a game-high 27 points, while Andre Emmett added 24 points 10 rebounds and 2 assists. History was made as Nancy Lieberman became the first woman ever to coach a men’s professional sports team.

As Ice Cube presented the trophy he said, “Let’s break all these ceilings. Let’s break all these barriers. Females can do anything in sports!” With the MVP, Coach of the Year, Captain of the Year, and Defensive Player Of the Year, it was no shock, that Power won the championship.