Ice Cube Is Taking the BIG3 Public — And He Wants You to Own a Piece · Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing summary

Key takeaways

Ice Cube says BIG3 was created because professional three-on-three basketball filled a market gap for fans who wanted more basketball after the NBA season.
He rates BIG3’s progress toward becoming a season fans anticipate like the NBA or NFL at seven out of ten, and says public-market capital can accelerate marketing, hiring, and expansion.
BIG3’s revenue plans include a major multiyear media deal, more sponsorships, franchise sales, youth basketball, and international three-on-three leagues.
The first four franchises sold for $10 million apiece, but Ice Cube expects team values to rise as the league expands from eight teams toward 12, 16, or 20.
Ice Cube presents the public listing under TONT as a way for ordinary fans—not only wealthy sports owners—to participate in the league’s growth.

Summary

Ice Cube created BIG3 to cure his basketball hangover

Ice Cube says BIG3 began with his frustration after the NBA Finals ended: he felt a “basketball hangover” during the three-month wait for football and wanted to see Kobe Bryant play longer after Bryant retired. Working with longtime collaborator Jeff Kwatinetz, whom he has known for more than 30 years, he concluded that three-on-three basketball was beloved but lacked a professional league. The league was therefore built from genuine fandom and the belief that a major market gap existed outside the NBA.

BIG3 is about seven out of ten toward becoming a major season

Asked to rate progress toward his 2018 goal of making fans anticipate BIG3 like the NBA or NFL, Ice Cube gives the league a seven out of ten. He says the organization had to deploy limited capital carefully and operate in a “lean and mean” fashion, particularly because its entertainment background has not yet been fully used for marketing 18-to-35-year-olds. Going public, he says, should fund needed hires, stronger marketing, more teams and weeks, and a broader global footprint.

The public listing is meant to fund media, sponsorship, and global growth

Matt asks how BIG3 makes money and how that could scale. Ice Cube says a major multiyear media deal remains a key objective, while additional sponsorship categories are still available. He also wants BIG3 to own the three-on-three format globally, including youth basketball using its rules and colors. He cites possible leagues in Australia, Asia, Europe, and South America, including discussions with Australia’s NBL and the East Asian Super League, and imagines a global “Big Cup.”

Franchise sales will move from $10 million upward

Ice Cube confirms that the league owned and pooled all teams during its first seven seasons, but roughly half are now privately owned and the remaining teams are available for sale. The first four franchises sold for $10 million each. He expects future sales to command much more as the league grows from eight teams to 12, 16, or 20, with the long-term aim that every team has an individual owner who can help expand BIG3.

Year 20 could include 20 teams, longer seasons, and a women’s league

Looking toward the league’s 20th year, Ice Cube hopes BIG3 will have at least 16 to 20 teams, play beyond the summer, and be preparing for the Big Cup. He also sees opportunities for a women’s league and many other expansions. He argues that BIG3 is more nimble than established organizations and says it surpassed FIBA as the premier three-on-three league within a few years, despite limited resources, with the ambition of dominating the format from youth to professional play.

Ice Cube wants fans to share in sports ownership—and opens with “Today Was a Good Day”

Ice Cube says the problem with sports ownership is not that billionaires and millionaires have money, but that ownership has been an exclusive club. He believes day-one fans should be able to participate in the league’s upside, contribute ideas and talents, and help attract fans and revenue instead of only buying tickets or merchandise. He calls BIG3 a proven league needing “a little gas on the fire.” If the listing is completed, its NASDAQ ticker is TONT, and he says the opening-bell song will be “Today Was a Good Day.”

Show notes

For the first time in sports history, a professional league is going public — and Ice Cube wants everyday fans to be the ones buying in. Motley Fool host Matt sits down with Ice Cube, founder and CEO of the BIG3 basketball league, to talk about what’s behind the decision to list on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TONT. They get into how the league went from a basketball hangover to a global vision, how the franchise model is scaling, what surviving COVID proved about the league’s staying power, and why Ice Cube believes this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for investors who’ve been locked out of sports ownership until now.

Host: Matt Frankel

Guest: Ice Cube

Producers: Bart Shannon, Lauren Budabin

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Ice Cube Is Taking the BIG3 Public — And He Wants You to Own a Piece