The 2019 BIG3 Draft is in the books. Live from Las Vegas on Wednesday night, one of the four expansion teams, the Enemies, made Royce White the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft. White was a former first-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, but played just three games in the league after dealing with mental health issues. He most recently played in the National Basketball League of Canada.
Up next, the Triplets selected Chris Johnson with the No. 2 pick, and the 3-Headed Monsters followed up by taking former NBA big man Larry Sanders with the No. 3 pick. The other most notable selection from the first round was Greg Oden, who went 7th overall to the Aliens.
Oden, of course, was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft. Back in professional basketball for the first time since 2016, when he played in China, Oden said, "It is fun to be around all these guys I haven't seen for a while, I am excited to play with these guys."
"It is fun to be around all these guys I haven't seen for a while, I am excited to play with these guys."
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) May 2, 2019
Greg Oden sounds ready to take the court in @thebig3. #BIG3Draft pic.twitter.com/lom322TJSI
Notable former NBA players selected later in the draft include Jason Richardson (Tri-State, 4th pick in the second round), Brandon Rush (Aliens, 8th pick in the second round), Mario Chalmers (3-Headed Monsters, 2nd pick in the third round) and Bonzi Wells (Tri-State, 10th pick in the third round).
The BIG3 is set to begin its third season this summer, and the 3-on-3 professional basketball league will be bigger than ever after the addition of four expansion teams -- the Aliens, Bivouac, Enemies, and Triplets -- boosted the total number of teams to 12.
After announcing that it will be partnering with CBS and CBS Sports as its broadcasting partner for its third season, the BIG3, founded by actor/rapper Ice Cube, is expected to reach a wider audience. The new season tips off on June 22.
BIG3 Draft results:
First Round:
- Enemies: Royce White
- Triplets: Chris Johnson
- 3-Headed Monsters: Larry Sanders
- Killer 3s: Josh Powell
- Ball Hogs: Will McDonald
- Tri-State: Yakouba Diawara
- Aliens: Greg Oden
- Trilogy: Patrick O'Bryant
- Bivouac: Shawne Williams
- Ghost Ballers: Jamario Moon
Second Round:
- Bivouac: CJ Leslie
- Killer 3s: Donte Greene
- 3-Headed Monsters: Tre Simmons
- Tri-State: Jason Richardson
- Triplets: Alan Anderson
- Trilogy: Sam Young
- Ghost Ballers: Alex Scales
- Aliens: Brandon Rush
- Ball Hogs: Jermaine Taylor
- Enemies: Craig Smith
Third Round:
- Triplets: Sergio Gipson
- 3-Headed Monsters: Mario Chalmers
- Aliens: Robert Vaden
- Ball Hogs: Dusan Bulut
- Killer 3s: CJ Watson
- 3s Company: Dijon Thompson
- Trilogy: Carlos Arroyo
- Bivouac: Dion Glover
- Ghost Ballers: Mike Taylor
- Tri-State: Bonzi Wells
- Enemies: Frank Robinson
Draft Rules
Since the Power are defending champions, they were not able to draft any new players. The order was determined with a lottery, which was announced leading into the draft. Last year's runners-up, 3's Company, could either keep two players or put its entire lineup into the pool. They decided to keep two players, which left them one pick in the third round.
Existing BIG3 Teams (Captains, Co-Captains)
*2019 expansion teams
- POWER: Corey Maggette (Captain), Cuttino Mobley (Co-Captain), Glen "Big Baby" Davis (Co-Captain)
- 3'S COMPANY: Dermarr Johnson (Captain), Baron Davis (Co-Captain), Drew Gooden (Co-Captain)
- 3-HEADED MONSTERS: Rashard Lewis (Captain), Reggie Evans (Co-Captain), Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Co-Captain)
- TRI-STATE: Jermaine O'Neal (Captain), Amar'e Stoudemire (Co-Captain), Nate Robinson (Co-Captain)
- KILLER 3'S: Stephen Jackson (Captain), Metta World Peace (Co-Captain), Al Harrington (Co-Captain)
- TRILOGY: Jason Terry (Captain), James White (Co-Captain), David Hawkins (Co-Captain)
- BALL HOGS: Brian Scalabrine (Captain), Josh Childress (Co-Captain), DeShawn Stevenson (Co-Captain)
- GHOST BALLERS: Mike Bibby (Captain), Ricky Davis (Co-Captain), Carlos Boozer (Co-Captain)
- *TRIPLETS: Joe Johnson (Captain), Al Jefferson (Co-Captain)
- *ALIENS: Andre Owens (Captain), Kendrick Perkins (Co-Captain), Shannon Brown (Co-Captain)
- *BIVOUAC: Josh Smith (Captain), Will Bynum (Co-Captain), Anthony Morrow (Co-Captain)
- *ENEMIES: Gilbert Arenas (Captain)
Power won the 2018 BIG3 title with a team that included Maggette, Mobley, Davis and Quentin Richardson. The team was coached by Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.