When BIG3 decided to become a location-based basketball league, one of the cities granted a franchise was Detroit.
And the city is ready to be part of Ice Cube’s three-on-three summer basketball league.
GameAbove Sports, which owns and operates the Detroit franchise, has named the team the Amplifiers. The roster will be announced after the BIG3 Combine and Draft, which takes place May 15, 2025.
The Amplifiers’ home opener is Sunday, July 20, at Little Caesars Arena.
NBA Hall of Famer George “The Iceman” Gervin is the Amplifiers’ head coach.
“We’ve been building toward this moment for years, and now Detroit finally has its BIG3 team,” said Gervin, who played college basketball at Eastern Michigan. “This city lives and breathes basketball. The Amplifiers will represent Detroit with pride and give fans an exciting summer.”
Ice Cube, the league’s co-founder, told Click on Detroit that it was an easy decision to award the city a franchise. “The stands are always full,” he said. “People love to go out, look good, dress good, and have a good time.”
The former N.W.A. member also gave advice on how to be successful as a player in the league, which is entering its eighth season.
“You’ve got to have an all-around game, or you’re not going to be successful,” he explained. “You’re going to get cooked out there. You get to see everybody pull out every trick to get a bucket.”
The Detroit Pistons of the 1980s were labeled the “Bad Boys” of the NBA, thanks to the fiery play of Dennis Rodman, Isiah Thomas, and Bill Laimbeer. Ice Cube seemingly expects the same of the Amplifiers. This season’s Pistons team lost to the New York Knicks in the opening round of the playoffs, but Ice Cube was still impressed.
“They all have grit, and that’s what you need,” he said. “You’ve got to have a chip on your shoulder. It seems like it’s back to Detroit basketball.”
Other cities that will host BIG3 teams this season include Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami.
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