Ice Cube Extends BIG3 League Invite To Shaquille O’Neal: “The Contract Ready!”

Ice Cube is ready for Shaquille O’Neal to wreak havoc in the BIG3 League. During a recent episode of Shaq’s The Big Podcast, the celebrated athlete discussed possibly playing professional basketball again. He asked his cohost, ex-NBA player, Mario Chalmers, if he could play in Cube’s basketball organization, BIG3. 

“You think I can play in the BIG3?,” O’Neal asked. Chalmers, who currently plays in the league, told him he could “easily” transition to the newer league. “Yeah, easily. I got the perfect spot for you, too. Come over there with me and Mike Beasley. You ain’t gotta do nothing but stay in the paint,” Chalmers expressed. But the NBA legend was hesitant, citing a recent hip surgery as a potential obstacle. 

“You really think I could play? I thought about it. I just had hip surgery and I ain’t played since. I don’t think I can get back in that mood,” Shaq said. Cube caught wind of the discussion and hit X/Twitter to invite the former Los Angeles Laker to pull up. “We got the contract ready for you, big fella. You got three months to get Diesel. You can eat all day in @thebig3 @SHAQ.”

The BIG3 has seen a lot of interest and acclaim since its inception in 2017. In January, 50 Cent actually inquired about bringing the league to Louisiana. Fif hit Instagram, sharing multiple pictures showing fans love at the TD Garden right before snapping it up with Cube. Fif used the carousel of photos to reveal they talked BIG3 business with the icon. “I had so much fun at the Boston/Rockets game, man. I told @icecube I want to bring the BIG3 to Shreveport, all roads lead to Shreveport it’s a go! @bransoncognac@lecheminduroi,” 50 captioned his post. 

As previously reported, Cube’s BIG3 League has 12 functioning teams participating in the “barnstorming” format. “Barnstorming” is the notion of sports teams traveling to various locations for exhibition games. Teams don’t belong to an individual city and are modeled like traveling attractions. The latest BIG3 season featured the twelve squads journeying to Dallas, Brooklyn, Memphis, Miami, Boston, Chicago, Charlotte, and Detroit for their exhibitions. 

So, maybe fans could see Shaquille playing for a BIG 3 team in Louisiana next season. Remember, Shaq played for the LSU Tigers in college, so this might be perfect.