by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton
April 11, 2025
‘I’m excited to join Ice Cube and the BIG3 – especially right after being inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame.’
N.W.A. Co-Founder Ice Cube has just snared an NBA Hall of Famer to play in the current BIG3 3-on-3 Basketball League season.
Former Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, who was recently inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame and will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, will play in the league for the Los Angeles Riot.
“I’m excited to join Ice Cube and the BIG3 –- especially right after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame,” said Howard in a written statement. “Words can’t describe how grateful I am for these opportunities. I can’t wait to join the LA Riot and try to bring another championship to the city of LA. But, the ultimate goal I have is to help the league go global.”
Ice Cube spoke to the retired NBA player in welcoming Howard to the league’s eighth season, which starts on Saturday, June 14, in Chicago, at the Allstate Arena at 4 p.m. EST. Howard is teaming up with Jordan Crawford, Elijah Stewart, and head coach Nick Young. Young, Crawford, and Stewart took home the BIG3 Championship as the Enemies in 2023. The LA Riot will make their hometown debut at the Intuit Dome on Aug. 9, 2025.
“On behalf of the entire league, I want to be the first one to welcome Dwight Howard to the BIG3,” said Cube. “His legacy speaks for itself, and he still has fun playing the game. We all know that Dwight Howard can do more on the basketball court than he was able to show in the NBA. So, it’s going to be nice to see him open up his game and show his all-around skills on the court in the BIG3.”
Howard became the 13th player enshrined in the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame. The ceremony occurred on March 24, when the Magic played against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Howard joined Orlando Magic Co-Founder Pat Williams (2014), Nick Anderson (2014), Shaquille O’Neal (2015), Rich DeVos (2016), Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway (2017), Jimmy Hewitt (2017), Tracy McGrady (2018), David Steele (2019), Darrell Armstrong (2020), John Gabriel (2022), Brian Hill (2022), and Dennis Scott (2023).
Howard was in the NBA for 18 seasons with the Magic, Lakers, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, and Philadelphia 76ers. He finally won an NBA Championship with the Lakers in 2020. He was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for three straight seasons, named to the All-NBA First Team in five consecutive seasons for eight appearances while being selected for the All-Star Game in eight straight seasons. He also led the league in rebounds for five seasons and blocks in the ’09 and ’10 seasons.
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