BIG3 co-founder, Ice Cube, talks about the league offering ownership in cities and their relationship with the NBA.
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00:00 Yeah, we're in the process right now of selling teams.
00:06 We own all 12 teams, the league, kind of like NASCAR in a way.
00:13 And it's time to sell the teams.
00:16 It's time for owners to take these teams, place them in different cities and to cultivate
00:25 the fan base.
00:28 And once we see those teams, we're going to expand.
00:33 But right now we're looking for the right owners, the ones that can help us grow, the
00:38 ones that want to be disruptive, ones that want to carve our own path.
00:49 Our motto is changing the game because we think that's what's necessary to do something
00:55 fresh and new.
00:57 And so we're looking for the right, we would love to have black minority women owners get
01:10 with us at the ground level before we're priced out.
01:14 At some point, the teams are going to be too expensive.
01:20 So we're really anxious to find the right partners on the floor when they can get to
01:28 teams at the lowest price available.
01:32 Are you guys helping with like, let's say webinars or seminars or something to that
01:37 nature to help people who want to get into ownership to understanding the dynamics it
01:43 would take for them to become an owner?
01:47 Well, we haven't really went that wide right now where we're dealing with a select group
01:56 that we really want to hone in on that could be our first owners.
02:02 And they give a strategic advantage to it.
02:04 They're not just coming in on a new team, but they're going to help us grow.
02:11 Once those are secured, I think then we'll go out wider to people we really don't really
02:22 associate with and see if any of them make the right fit.
02:28 It's kind of like there's a lot of money out there, but having the right partners to really
02:36 start growing this league is just as important as the money.
02:41 Yeah.
02:42 You know, I read and maybe you could correct me on this.
02:46 Have you had some challenges with the NBA in helping you guys to grow or do they see
02:54 you guys as partners now?
02:58 I don't think they see us as partners.
03:01 We've wanted to have a working relationship with the NBA.
03:05 We think it's healthy for both leagues and we think we complement what they're doing.
03:14 They definitely complement what we're doing.
03:18 But it's the top brass at the NBA.
03:24 If you ask any players, they love us.
03:28 Coaches, GMs, owners love us.
03:34 It's just really the top guys at the NBA are threatened by what we're doing and they don't
03:41 have to be.
03:42 We want to have a working relationship.
03:46 So hopefully they'll come to their senses on this.
03:50 Well, how do you see a working relationship?
03:53 What have you proposed to those guys?
03:59 We offered to give them a piece of the league.
04:07 And so with that, we wanted to make sure that we were working together in any way.
04:16 At that time, we were willing to take suggestions from them.
04:24 And we were willing to not step on their toes in any way, shape or form.
04:35 But once they kind of dismissed that, then we had to do what we needed to do to make
04:44 sure our league was moving in the right direction.
04:48 And we had to make our game exciting and fun to watch and play.