Just when the anticipation for the first ever 3-on-3 pro league is going off the charts, BIG3 just made another signing that would make a ball bounce on its own in jubilation. Brian Scalabrine is going back to the hardwood after agreeing to be part of the league's draft pool together with four other talented NBA-caliber ballers.
According to the BIG3 official website, The "White Mamba", the Celtics' fan favorite, leads the latest signings for having an NBA championship under his name as part of Boston's 2008 title run. Guards Larry Hughes and swingmen Josh Childress, Reggie Evans and Ivan Johnson completed the newest batch of hopefuls.
Hughes, the 1998 NBA Draft's 8th pick by the Sixers, last played in the NBA in 2012 when he was waived by the Orlando Magic. He averaged 1.3 points, 0.6 boards and 0.8 assists before waiving him after playing 9 games. ESPN stats show that the 38-year old guard holds career averages of 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals in his 13-year NBA career, which included stints with Philadelphia, Golden State, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, New York, Charlotte and Orlando.
For a player famously known for signing a lucrative contract in Greece despite blossoming as the Hawks' 6th man, Josh Childress wanted to prove his critics wrong, this time on a 3-on-3 platform. A highly-touted 6th pick in 2004 Draft, the small forward out of Stanford University averaged 11.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in his first 4 years with Atlanta before Greek powerhouse Olympiacos Piraeus lured him $20 million with all other needs like a house, car, tax exemption, telephone and even an own chef , making him the highest paid player in the world outside the NBA as previously reported by The New York Times.
Two seasons removed from the NBA, Reggie Evans is no stranger to overcoming the odds throughout his basketball career. Playing for 7 teams in his 13-year stretch, Evans is a known tenacious rebounder and a major contributor to all teams that he 's played. He is known for being the first player who recorded a scoreless 20-rebound game since Dennis Rodman did the feat in 1997 according to RealGM in his tenure with the Nuggets. ESPN had his averages at 4.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in his career.
Johnson might be the most controversial of this crop of players. Undrafted in the 2007 Draft, the 6-foot-8 Johnson have been banned more than winning a title in his numerous stints overseas. Xinhua News confirmed that Johnson was banned for flicking off a referee at the last game of a championship series in 2010. He won his only championship in his career in the Philippines for Talk N' Text in the Philippine Basketball Association in 2015 but had the opponent's guards two front teeth removed by his wayward elbow according to ABS-CBN News. He was banned from playing in the oldest league in Asia the following year for his expletives towards the league commisioner Chito Narvasa, Jr. following his ejection as published by Spin. He averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in his 2 years in the NBA for the Hawks.
BIG3 is a league founded by rapper-actor Ice Cube after being saddened by players retiring young from the NBA and will start its inaugural season in June. Some of the NBA talents who have committed to play are Chauncey Billups, Stephen Jackson, Kenyon Martin, Jason Williams, Jermaine O'Neal and Rashad McCants among others, with greats Allen Iverson and Charles Oakley serving as playing coaches.
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