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Ice Cube’s BIG3 Basketball League Expands With Teams In Houston And Miami

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After Ice Cube’s 3-on-3 basketball league, The BIG3, announced it was moving to a more traditional, city-based model in May with the $10 million sale of its first franchise in Los Angeles, the league has once again expanded to two new cities, Houston and Miami, according to Billboard. While the league started out with a touring model — sort of like the barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters — its proprietor said at the time, “Basing our teams in home cities allows BIG3 to engage local communities and fanbases. Bringing in ownership groups each with their own sports expertise, business, and capabilities beginning in 2025 will allow BIG3 to grow exponentially.”

The newest ownership consists of businessmen Eric Mullins and Milton Carroll, who will base their team in Houston, and hospitality executive Heath Freeman will put his team in Miami. It’s unknown what will happen with the existing teams, which consist of the Ghost Ballers, 3 Headed Monsters, 3’s Company, Aliens, Ball Hogs, Bivouac, Enemies, Killer 3s, Power, Tri-State, Trilogy, and Triplets, or whatever became of the cryptocurrency that allowed fans to purchase ownership in teams that was announced in 2022.

In March, Cube ruffled feathers in the basketball community by allegedly offering then-Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark a $5 million deal to play in the upcoming BIG3 season, a move that some criticized as opportunistic. Still, it seems to have drawn the right kind of attention, too, with new owners lining up to take the league into its next phase.

DeMar DeRozan Makes A Cameo In Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Video

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When Kendrick Lamar and Drake started beefing earlier this year, I’m not sure anyone expected one of the diss tracks in their back-and-forth to become the song of the summer, but Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” has become an inescapable anthem that just keeps building momentum.

First there was “The Pop Out”, where Lamar filled the Forum in L.A. and drew millions of viewers on Amazon for a celebration of Los Angeles, culminating in him performing “Not Like Us” not one, not two, not three, not four, but five times in a row to close out the show. During his fourth time running it back, he brought up seemingly all of L.A. onto the stage, including a pair of NBA players, as L.A. natives Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan gleefully danced on stage.

The victory lap continued as shortly after “The Pop Out”, Kendrick was seen filming the “Not Like Us” music video, and the Compton native dropped the visuals on July 4. In the video, DeRozan makes an appearance during Lamar’s “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither” line (2:42 mark), referencing the former Raptor’s stint in Toronto. Getting one of Drake’s beloved Raptors players to make a video appearance in a diss track is a special kind of twist of the knife from Kendrick, who has looked to find every possible way to make Drake miserable during this beef.

As for DeRozan, he is still figuring out where he’ll play next season, as it seems increasingly unlikely he’ll be back in Chicago and is exploring sign-and-trade options — which figure to include Los Angeles as a possible destination.

Las Vegas Aces Star A’ja Wilson Was Hilariously Eager To Name Beyoncé As The Artist She Wants To Do A Vegas Residency

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Las Vegas isn’t just where artists go to do long-term residencies when they need a break from touring. It’s also the home of several sports teams, including the WNBA’s Aces, who played the Indiana Fever on ESPN last night. Naturally, ESPN anchor Michael Eaves asked the Aces star forward A’ja Wilson after the game if there were any artists she wanted to see perform a residency in Vegas. The WNBA’s best player didn’t even let Eaves get the question out before responding with a relatable, one-word answer: Beyoncé.

“She doesn’t even have to come here for a residency,” she conceded. “She could just come to a game and just say ‘what’s up’ to us, and we’re fine, ’cause I know she got other stuff to do. Beyoncé, girl…”

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With the WNBA increasing in popularity lately, it doesn’t sound like a pipe dream (I, personally, am disappointed that Bey hasn’t hit up a game yet, though — maybe she was waiting for the Houston Comets to come back). The Chicago Sky’s rookie forward Angel Reese recently joined Megan Thee Stallion on stage during her tour stop in the Windy City, and the Phoenix Mercury duo of Brittney Griner and Natasha Cloud got Meg’s attention to invite her to a game when her tour reached the Valley of the Sun. Additionally, the W has been making in-roads into the world of music, tapping Kehlani to perform at last year’s All-Star Game and to narrate the launch video for the expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries. If Beyoncé does give the league a co-sign, its skyrocketing popularity would be supercharged, for sure.

Bronny James Is Honoring Juice WRLD By Wearing 9 With The Lakers

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Bronny James met with the media for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. James and fellow 2024 NBA Draft selection Dalton Knecht spoke about their jump to the league, and while James unsurprisingly got plenty of questions about one Laker teammate in particular, both players got the chance to dive into why they are wearing their respective jersey numbers.

James will wear the No. 9 in Los Angeles, and explained how he did it as a way to honor Juice WRLD, the rapper who passed away back in 2019.

“Juice has just been a big part of me keeping calm in some situations that I’ve been through,” James explained. “So yeah, just paying homage to him, especially cause he passed, it’s a really important thing for me.”

For Knecht, things were a little more simple, as he decided to take advantage of the fact that his college number is worn by Anthony Davis by going with a pun based on his last name.

“I knew eventually, like, I probably would have to run into the number 4,” Knecht said. “But, 3’s been my number my whole life, and then, yeah, 3, AD got it, so why not do Knecht 4? Why not?”

Bronny James Is Honoring Juice WRLD By Wearing 9 With The Lakers

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bronny james juice wrld
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Bronny James met with the media for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. James and fellow 2024 NBA Draft selection Dalton Knecht spoke about their jump to the league, and while James unsurprisingly got plenty of questions about one Laker teammate in particular, both players got the chance to dive into why they are wearing their respective jersey numbers.

James will wear the No. 9 in Los Angeles, and explained how he did it as a way to honor Juice WRLD, the rapper who passed away back in 2019.

“Juice has just been a big part of me keeping calm in some situations that I’ve been through,” James explained. “So yeah, just paying homage to him, especially cause he passed, it’s a really important thing for me.”

For Knecht, things were a little more simple, as he decided to take advantage of the fact that his college number is worn by Anthony Davis by going with a pun based on his last name.

“I knew eventually, like, I probably would have to run into the number 4,” Knecht said. “But, 3’s been my number my whole life, and then, yeah, 3, AD got it, so why not do Knecht 4? Why not?”

SZA Relives Her Freakishly Flexible Gymnast Dreams With Simone Biles In The New 2024 Paris Olympics Promo Video

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Similar to professional sports, music is a competitive arena. The 2024 Paris Olympics has only heightened the tension in the air. But the lighthearted mashups of competitors in the games and music’s biggest stars has shown just how interwoven things are.

Last month, Snoop Dogg vowed to give up smoke (but for real this time) to cover the showdowns. Yesterday (July 1), SZA relived her inner gymnast dreams with Simone Biles.

In the pair’s sit down, SZA showed off her freakishly flexible skills in a friendly handstand battle. When asked about her abilities, the “Saturn” singer revealed to Biles that before pursuing a career in music, she trained to be a gymnast. Biles then asked what made her leave the life of an athlete behind.

“When it was clear to me that I wasn’t going to be a national gymnast,” she said. “I was like, ‘Ok, let me see what I can do. See what else I could do.”

SZA took to Instagram to share the episode and praise Biles. “I was SO honored to hang out with you, Simone Biles 🥹🤸🏾‍♀️🐐,” she wrote. “THIS FELT LIKE A FEVER DREAM. Good luck at your THIRD Olympic Games ! 🤞🏾🏅#ParisOlympics.”

Watch the full conversation behind SZA and Simone Biles below.

Jimmy Butler Complained To Camila Cabello That Heat Fans ‘Never Show Up On Time’

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For years, Miami fans have gotten heat (pun intended) for not exactly being the most punctual fan base in the NBA. A combination of some heavy traffic and living in a city with beaches and restaurants and plenty to do means a lot of Heat games start with a sparsely filled arena, eventually reaching capacity well after the opening tip.

Miami fans will defend themselves with a variety of excuses, including some very legitimate ones, but it is noticeable and it’s not just fans of other teams or the media that see it. In a new video with Complex, Jimmy Butler sat down with pop star Camila Cabello to talk about their shared home city, and while Butler made clear he loves the people of Miami, he also couldn’t help but complain about the tardiness of the fans, calling it the worst thing about the city.

Butler wants to have the building “rocking” from the jump, but it tends to be a slow build to the energy at home games for the Heat. It’ll be interesting to see how this goes over with Heat fans. Butler, for his part, has one more year left on his deal with the Heat and extension talks with the organization have seemingly not gotten far. That said, while there was reporting earlier this summer that could lead to Butler pushing his way out via trade, more recently the indication has been he’ll play out the year with the Heat whether he’s got a long-term deal or not. Either way, he’d like to see the Kaseya Center fill up a bit earlier than usual next season.

Lil Durk Is Recruiting LeBron To The Bulls By Offering To Pay Half His Salary, But Might Not Realize How Much That Is

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LeBron James has until the end of this week to decide what he’s doing with his player option with the Lakers, and if he chooses not to pick it up, he’ll become a free agent on Sunday evening when the NBA’s moratorium period opens at 6 p.m. ET on June 30.

While most expect LeBron to stay in Los Angeles, there are plenty of teams that would love to add the future Hall of Famer and would like the chance to pitch him on why a change of scenery might be his best bet for another championship run. The Sixers and Suns are known to have interest in James, but other teams would surely try to get a meeting as well. While the Chicago Bulls don’t really have a great case to make as a potential title contender, that hasn’t stopped Chicago native and Bulls fan Lil Durk from doing his best to recruit LeBron (and Bronny) to the Bulls.

Durk posted a screenshot of a message he sent James to his IG story on Tuesday recruiting him to Chicago, offering to pay half of LeBron’s salary himself if he has to.

I’m not sure Lil Durk’s accountant would agree with this offer, as James is eligible to sign a deal that would pay him more than $50 million annually, which would put Durk on the hook for a tidy $25+ million per year. That said, you have to respect the effort here to do whatever you can to help your favorite team. The Bulls can’t acquire James without a pretty complicated sign-and-trade, but honestly, I think plenty of Bulls fans would feel better about Lil Durk handling Chicago’s roster moves than Arturas Karnisovas at this point — especially after the Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey trade.

LeBron James Creates An Existential Dilemma For Lil Wayne In A New Beats Commercial

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LeBron James is getting set for his 22nd season in the NBA, and has a big decision to make this summer as he can be a free agent if he so chooses. The expectation is that he remains in Los Angeles as a member of the Lakers, as they just hired his former podcast partner JJ Redick as head coach, but if L.A. doesn’t lay out a plan to invest in the roster to create a title contender, he could see what’s out there in free agency.

If he does that, plenty of teams will make their pitch to the best player of this generation (and arguably all-time), as he is both still a tremendous player and remains the NBA’s biggest draw, even after over two decades in the league. Similar to how there are few players that have ever had a claim to being as good or better than James on the basketball court, the list of players that have James’ level off the court appeal is just as short — basically, just him and Michael Jordan.

James pretty regularly stars in commercials, and his latest is with longtime partner Beats by Dr. Dre for the re-launch of the Beats Pill. In the spot, LeBron creates an existential dilemma for Lil Wayne by turning up his legendary track, ‘A Milli’, so loud in a penthouse party that Wayne can’t sleep in his condo underneath. When Wayne bursts in to turn it off, James reminds him that “wouldn’t Lil Wayne want us to play Lil Wayne too loud?”, which the New Orleans rapper can’t help but agree with.

The Drake Curse Continues As He Went 0-For-2 Picking The Winners In The NBA And Stanley Cup Finals

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Depending on who you ask, Drake is one of the unluckiest guys in the world. Yes, he has a lot of money and he’s extremely famous, but when it comes to aligning himself with winning sports teams and athletes who are able to come out on top, well, he doesn’t always look great.

Is there actually some sort of supernatural force that works against Drake and the teams he gets behind? Probably not, unless Kendrick Lamar is far more powerful than I originally anticipated. But unfortunately for Drake, the two huge bets that he made on the two major American sports leagues that crowned a champion this month went kaput, as he posted the following picture to his Instagram account back at the beginning of June.

“Dallas cause I’m a Texan,” Drake wrote in his comment. “Oilers are self explanatory.”

The Mavericks, of course, only took one game off of the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, and actually got blown out (twice) more than they won. As such, the Celtics were able to win their 18th championship in only five games.

Edmonton was a slightly different story. The team looked like it was going to get swept in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers, but they were able to rally and win three games in a row to force a decisive Game 7 back in Florida. Unfortunately for the Oilers, they were unable to finish off their miracle comeback, as the Panthers were able to win a cagey game on their home ice, 2-1, en route to lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.