Former professional basketball player Stephen Jackson is back in the game, signing with the 3-on-3 league’s newest team, The Warriors.
The warriors big man is a former NBA champion guard who has recently joined the BIG3.
Getty The Ball Hogs’ Leandro Barbosa during a BIG3 match versus the Aliens on July 18.
You may have missed what Leandro Barbosa was up to on Sunday just outside of Las Vegas if you blink.
Barbosa, a former Golden State Warriors guard who is now a player mentor coach for the team, may have declared his retirement from the NBA last year, but he is still ripping it up on the floor. In BIG3 Week 2 play in Paradise, Nevada, “The Brazlian Blur” led his Ball Hogs to a 51-42 win against the Aliens by scoring a game-high 27 points – including four 3-pointers (but no “four-pointers”) – and dishing out a game-high five assists.
The Ball Hogs are currently 2-0, which puts them halfway to matching their victory total from the previous three seasons.
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The BIG3 is a three-on-three basketball league that began in 2017 and features former NBA players and foreign players. It was co-founded by actor and hip-hop artist Ice Cube and entertainment entrepreneur Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams and follows “major deviations” from the official FIBA three-on-three basketball regulations.
Barbosa served as a reserve with the Warriors for two seasons.
GettyJ.R. Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Leandro Barbosa of the Golden State Warriors during Game 2 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
Barbosa, who is currently a 38-year-old BIG3 player, had a great 14-year NBA career with five clubs, the majority of which were the Phoenix Suns. Barbosa was chosen with the 28th selection in the 2003 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs, but was then moved to the Phoenix Suns, where he spent nine years across three stints, including the first seven seasons of his career.
Barbosa earned the Sixth Man of the Year title in his fourth season in Phoenix after setting career highs in points (18.1), assists (4.0), and minutes per game (32.7), as well as a career-best 56.2 percent effective field goal percentage. Barbosa played for the Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, and Boston Celtics after his first and second seasons with the Suns and before joining Golden State.
Barbosa joined the Dubs in September of 2014 after helping his home Brazil reach the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup Quarterfinals. He played a key part on the 2015 title-winning team’s bench. Barbosa averaged 6.7 points per game in 15.4 minutes of play in 134 career games (all but one off the bench) in the Bay Area, shooting 46.8/36.9/80.9.
Ball Hogs Member ‘Brazilian Blur’ Isn’t the Only One With a Dubs Connection
Rick Barry, head coach of the GettyBall Hogs, and Leandro Barbosa, co-captain, after a game versus the Aliens on July 18.
Despite the fact that this is Barbosa’s first season in the BIG3, he is co-captain with Will McDonald, a previous Spanish League basketball champion. Former NBA player Brian Scalabrine serves as captain, while former NBA players Jodie Meeks and Spencer Hawes round out the roster.
Rick Barry, a Hall of Famer and Warriors icon, is in his fourth season as the Ball Hogs’ head coach. The 77-year-old former forward is regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history, having made 12 All-Star teams, four All-ABA teams, and six All-NBA teams in his career.
Barry won the Rookie of the Year in 1966 and went on to earn the Finals MVP in 1975, leading Golden State to their first ever championship.
The Ball Hogs have missed the playoffs in each of their first three seasons, according to their club website, and Scalabrine is the only returning player from last season. It wouldn’t be surprising if the club made their playoff debut this year, with Barbosa leading the team in scoring and proving that he’s still got it in his late 30s.
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The golden state warriors location is a basketball league that features former NBA players. Former Warriors Champion Guard Tearing It up in the BIG3 has been one of the best games so far this season.
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