At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Big 3 made the bizarre decision to produce a “quarantined, reality show-style three-on-three tournament” that was set to premiere in April. To help bring this idea to fruition, the producers of Big Brother became official partners and they began to develop what would basically be the hoops equivalent of the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter. But a funny thing happened along the way: COVID-19 turned out to be way more devastating than anyone could’ve ever imagined. And now the Big 3’s attempt to steal some of the NBA’s spotlight has been postponed until as late as September, as has the Big 3’s regular season, which was scheduled to begin on June 20.
From USA Today:
The Big 3 will delay a quarantined, reality show 3-on-3 pre-season basketball tournament from this month to either August or September because of ongoing concerns about the novel coronavirus, a person familiar with the developments told USA TODAY Sports. The Big 3, which originally planned to begin its fourth season on June 20 in Memphis, is aiming to start the season in either the fall or the winter, the person added.
“It’s a fluid situation,” a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s hard to provide a fixed date, but it’s happening.”
The three-week tournament was set to include 16 participants who would be quarantined in a newly constructed home in Los Angeles. But amid safety concerns for those traveling from out of state, as well as testing shortages throughout the country, the decision was made to pump the brakes.
The WWE and UFC have exploited loopholes in order to continue operations during this ongoing pandemic, but as the NFL, NBA, NCAA and other sports leagues have learned, things get a bit more tricky when you have multiple teams, owners and participants involved. I’m a big fan of the brand of basketball that the Big 3 is bringing to the forefront, so hopefully, they’ll be able to iron everything out by September.