WASHINGTON 鈥� Once relegated to playgrounds and pickup games, 3-on-3 basketball is having a moment.
Two separate touring exhibitions of the sport are making their ways around the country this summer, and it has been .
The world of 3-on-3 sweeps through the District this weekend, as makes a stop in Navy Yard as the fourth of its six-stop, nationwide tour (if weather forces the action indoors, it will move to Trinity University in Northeast).
In its second year, Dew NBA 3X is a tour put on by the NBA, featuring preselected teams battling it out for regional titles and a chance to go to the national title game in Los Angeles to compete for $20,000.
Each team has at least one former Division I or Division II player, so the talent level exceeds your average pickup game. Along with new Washington Wizard Tim Frazier, former U.Va. star and current Milwaukee Buck Malcom Brogdon will be in attendance this weekend.
鈥淓vents like this allow people who love the game 鈥� that love watching, that love playing 鈥� to continue to be involved some type of way,鈥� Brogdon told 小萝莉影视. 鈥淚 think it keeps basketball relevant after the finals have ended.鈥�
The WNBA has long tried to capitalize on professional men鈥檚 basketball鈥檚 summer break, but the 3-on-3 format seems to lend itself especially to summer.
Often played outdoors, the games are far shorter and more compact than the 2 and 1/2 hour pro game, stuffed full of quick possessions and highlights.
It鈥檚 a different version of the same game, but one that is being appreciated on a larger scale than ever before.
鈥淏asketball doesn鈥檛 just have to be five-on-five,鈥� said Brogdon. 鈥淭hree-on-three is sort of the next stop for how people have always played the game competitively. I think it鈥檚 about the right time for it to be taken to the next level, for people to take it serious and play it on the Olympic level.鈥�
It鈥檚 an idea that fellow U.Va. star and Good Counsel graduate Roger Mason Jr. had been kicking around for some years before an opportunity landed at his doorstep. After Mason鈥檚 playing career 鈥� which included two stops with the Wizards 鈥� he joined the NBA Players Association, where he served as deputy executive director.
Once the new collective bargaining agreement was hammered out last year, he decided the time was right for a leap of faith 鈥� to start a new professional 3-on-3 league.
鈥淒uring the 2011 lockout, I thought about how cool it would be,鈥� Mason told 小萝莉影视. 鈥淯ltimately, I believed in 3-on-3 basketball and our ability to make this league legitimate.鈥�
, backed by Allen Iverson and Ice Cube, and Mason is its inaugural commissioner.
Chock-full of former NBA stars, it also tours the country, but has the same eight teams playing at each stop, making their way through a schedule that will include playoffs and a championship in Las Vegas later this summer. The touring model looks more like that of a musical act than a sports league, which makes sense, considering its founders.
鈥淭he idea is to give every city this one show, once a year,鈥� said Mason.
While Big3 will visit New York, Chicago and Los Angeles this year, it will not swing through D.C. The league will make stops in smaller markets like Tulsa, Charlotte and Lexington, Kentucky. Part of that has to do with the league鈥檚 television deal with Fox Sports, as some markets correlate to the network鈥檚 local affiliates.
鈥淓very year, we take a fresh look at the cities we have to play in,鈥� said Mason.
Dew NBA 3X made it to Washington in its second year. Does that mean we could see Big3 in D.C. next summer?
鈥淲e鈥檇 love to come to Verizon Center,鈥� said Mason. 鈥淲e have so many players with D.C. ties.鈥�
Brogdon understands the city鈥檚 passion for the game, one which is evidenced by the preponderance of talent constantly making its way from the DMV to the NBA. He鈥檚 hoping that passion will make this weekend鈥檚 event a good fit here.
鈥淵ou look at the amount of No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the NBA Draft that have come from this area, and it鈥檚 pretty amazing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have a lot of talent every year and guys who go to the NBA and do great things every year.鈥�
