The coronavirus pandemic shut down the NBA and created a major opening for basketball content.
The Big3 planned to make a big splash with a show that was part reality-TV house, part basketball tournament.
Instead, “The Last Dance” documentary on Michael Jordan and the Bulls and, to a lesser degree, the NBA’s HORSE tournament have filled the void.
The Big 3 will delay a quarantined, reality show 3-on-3 pre-season basketball tournament from this month to either August or September because of ongoing concerns about the novel coronavirus, a person familiar with the developments told USA TODAY Sports.
The NBA might resume by then. If it does, there’d be far less appetite for a novelty like the Big3’s tournament.
But this postponement also serves as a warning for the NBA. Though the Big3 has fewer resources than the NBA, this reality-show operation was going to be much smaller than the NBA’s bubble, and the Big3 still can’t get it off the ground.
A bigger venture is even more complicated.