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Report: Big3 plans to host reality-TV house show/basketball tournament

Big3 founder Ice Cube

NEW ORLEANS, LA - AUGUST 25: BIG 3 founder Ice Cube looks on during the BIG3 3-on-3 basketball league game on August 25, 2019 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA. (Photo by Stephen Lew/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

NBA commissioner Adam Silver talked about filling the nation’s appetite for basketball with his league on hiatus due to the coronavirus.

The Big3 is beating him to the punch with a tournament planned for April.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports:
The preseason tournament will feature 16 to 22 players from The Big3 who are negative for the coronavirus, and they will be quarantined in Los Angeles, sources said.

To assure the league is operating under safe conditions, players will be quarantined in a large home provided by the league, sources said. A basketball court/facility will be built on site. If a player breaks quarantine at any point during the tournament, he would be eliminated and removed from the premises, sources said.

The games and the players’ daily lives will be captured on camera for added drama and storylines. The production crew would be stationed nearby but offsite from the players.

There would be seven rounds of games, with teammates reshuffling after the first round. When a player accumulates three losses, he is eliminated. Cash prizes totaling millions of dollars will be awarded for first-, second- and third-place individual winners.


This is a great idea – unless it isn’t.

Is testing reliable enough to ensure no false negatives? Could someone contract coronavirus shortly before getting tested and not have it show up on the test? Will players initially be isolated for protection against that scenario?

The mansion could turn into a nightmare if someone with coronavirus enters.

Otherwise, this seems fun and would be welcome. The Big3 generally uses retired NBA players who still hold name recognition. It’d be interesting to watch them interact and play basketball.

Besides the trepidation about coronavirus infiltrating a group of people living in close quarters.