By: Liam Blutman
Wow. It’s been an incredibly exciting season with plenty of highlights, fun moments and nothing short of spectacular games. And all the action throughout the summer has led to today, the Big3, season three championship featuring the expansion Triplets and Killer 3’s as they fight for the BIG3 title in front of a great crowd in Ice Cube’s hometown, Los Angeles, California.
But before the big final, we had another clash to watch as Power and 3 Headed Monsters played for third place. I had the opportunity to interview Nancy Lieberman before the game and I’ll share that interview down below this paragraph! The game itself was fun to watch and a lot of cool things happened. At halftime the BIG3 showed appreciation for Corey Maggette and his illustrious basketball career as Corey announced that this would be his final basketball game. It was pretty sad to see but this incredible human had an outstanding career. The BIG3 also showed love to Cuttino Mobley and wished him happy birthday at the half. Maybe Power’s emotions got the best of them as they started the 2nd half slow. 3HM held a double-digit lead with 42 points, then Power exploded for a 15-2 run and we had ourselves a 44-42 game! From there it was smooth sailing for 3HM despite the tense conditions as they won 50-42. They received multiple positive performances as Rashard Lewis had 11 and 6 rebounds and Larry Sanders stepped up in Reggie Evans absence with 11 and 10 boards. Rashard spoke very highly of Larry in the post game presser. Mario Chalmers also contributed as he hit two four-point bombs early and got the crowd buzzing, finishing with 10 points. Rodney Carney made his BIG3 debut and scored a quiet 11 and was a huge factor in the 3HM victory. I asked Sweet Lew how important this win was moving into season four, Rashard responded by saying, “We really wanted to finish this season on a high note and I’m glad we did that. Our goal was to be in the championship, it’s important that we execute better next year so we can win that championship!” On the flip side of things, Jeremy Pargo killed it for Power as he sunk four threes and dropped 18 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. One heck of a game for Pargo that should help make him be a coveted pickup next season. Corey ended his playing career with 9 points and it was indeed a pleasure to watch him thrive for so many years in basketball.
Nancy Leiberman Interview
Q: You and your team gameplan better than anybody in the league. Opponents have claimed that y’all gameplan as well if not better than some NBA teams. How much work goes into the weekly Power gameplan?
A: “I’m spending 4, 5, 6 hours a week putting together film, gameplan, breaking down player personnel, breaking down what plays people run. All I’m trying to do is make sure that our players are armed with all the information they need, once the game starts it becomes a players game and the beauty of it is they decide the probability and outcome, and I just love it.”
Q: Corey Maggette recently announced that today would be his final game. What’s your favorite memory while coaching him?
A: “I don’t think my memories will be favorite anymore, I think Corey is going to come back and play. I can’t speak for him but I’m hoping he’ll have time off with his family, enjoy himself, and come January he’ll realize we have something really special here and this is not how we want to go out, we want to go out as champions, and we need to be healthy. So my job is to leave him alone and just encourage him to follow his heart.”
Q: You and Lisa have dominated the BIG3 thus far, the question remains when a female will coach an NBA team. When do you see that happening?
A: “Well I don’t have a crystal ball or anything but when Adam Silver says he’d like to see a female head coach sooner or later, he’s not just throwing it out, it’s what he really believes! There’s some coaches like Becky Hammon, myself, and plenty of other young bright coaches that are working really hard for that next opportunity. We are lifers, I’ve been doing this for 25 years not 25 minutes! Becky is in her 6th year in the NBA, she’s dedicated herself to this level of basketball. We’ll see what happens, whoever ends up being that person, we’ll all cheer them on!”
The Big3 championship between the Triplets and Killer 3’s. Lisa Leslie. Charles Oakley. Joe Johnson. Stephen Jackson. Staples Center. You already know the celebrities were ready to watch this one and sure enough Snoop Dogg, LeBron James, Terrell Owens, and Shareef O’Neal were among plenty of others showing love for the BIG3 today. How cool was it so see Snoop Doggdance whilst Ice Cuberapped at center court? Only at the BIG3! All present witnessed another insane performance from Joe Johnson and I’d hope the NBA put their politics aside and took notice of this as Joe scored 28 and was brilliant front start to finish. The stepback J’s, catch and shoot threes, iso pull-ups. It was all on display as he was fantastic and showed why he is the best player in the BIG3. The Triplets won the ‘ship 50-39 with ISO Joe a huge reason why, of course. And another fact of note was that this marks the second straight season that a female coach brought home the championship! Congrats Lisa Leslie! It was very cool to see Lisa win the championship in Los Angeles, the city she grew up in and played plenty of basketball in throughout her illustrious career. The Triplets basically rolled out a 3 man lineup today as Joe, Jamario Moon, and Alan Anderson accumulated for all 50 points. Alan scored 11 and grabbed 8 rebounds. Jamario got 11 points and snagged 9 boards. A tremendous effort from these three to will their squad to the championship. Lost amidst the Triplets dominance would be Stephen Jackson, he balled out for Killer 3’s today as he scored 19 and hauled in 9 rebounds as well as knocking down two trey balls. I can’t wait to see what Stak does next year with redemption and a BIG3 championship on his mind. Congrats to both teams on stellar seasons and it was definitely a pleasure to watch!
During the first game, the Young3 took the court to showcase their skills with some drills and layups. We were shocked to receive a $5,000 donation from Toyota and the BIG3 and thank them so much. The Young3 and Adidas is building something special! Thank you for believing in the Young3!
So, that’s it for season three of the BIG3. Ominous times arise as BIG3 basketball will be on hold until next summer. Longest off season in sports so it’ll be quite awhile until we see some more high-powered BIG3 ball. Until then, fans.
