Building the Perfect BIG3 Player

The Frankenballer

What would the perfect BIG3 Player look like? To answer that question, we attempted to find the best players in the BIG3 league in each specific area. Here’s what I came up with.

Rebounding:

This was the easiest decision to make. Reggie Evans has led the BIG3 in rebounding in every year the league has existed. I can’t argue against that. Evans was one of only two players to average more than 10 rebounds per game last season when he pulled down a league-leading 11.6 rebounds per game for the Three-Headed Monsters. (Technically, Tony Criswell averaged 15 rebounds per game, but he only played one game.)

Shooting:

Leandro Barbosa had a great season shooting the ball last season. However, I’m going to add some European Flavor to the list and take Dusan Bulut. Bulut is one of the most decorated 3-on-3 players on the planet, and his silky-smooth jump shot is a big reason for that. Unlike Barbosa’s unorthodox (but effective) two-handed flick, Bulut has a textbook jumper that he can load and fire in the blink of an eye. Bulut went 12-26 (46.2%) from deep last season with Power, and even splashed in one of the two shots he took from the four-point circle.

Deep Shooting:

Based on last season, there’s only one answer here. Jeremy Pargo went 5-8 (62.5%) from the four-point circles last season with Three’s Company. The crazy part was that he only shot 2-8 (25.0%) from three-point range. For some players, I guess deeper is better.

All-Around Scoring:

I’ve gotta pay tribute to Iso Joe (Johnson) here. The 2-time BIG3 MVP led the league in scoring for the second consecutive year last season, and was able to get a 10-day contract with the Celtics to finish out his NBA career. The 40-year old Johnson is still a walking bucket, and has a bottomless bag of tricks he can use to get his shot off.

Ball Handling:

He didn’t play in the BIG3 last year. He might not play in the league this year. He’s never made Paul Pierce fall flat on his face in an NBA game, as Joe Johnson did. But Larry “Bone Collector” Williams is in the draft pool, and I can’t resist putting him in this spot. The streetball legend has been perfecting the art of dribbling for a solid two decades. He’s been hired as a skills coach at both the professional and NBA level. He can be seen talking over the finer points of the ankle-breaker with the best crossover artists currently in the NBA. Will the moves that have given him 1 million followers on Instagram and left defenders sitting on the court all over the world work in the BIG3? I don’t know, but I am eager to find out.

Passing:

He was mainly known for his ability to fill up the basket during his time in the NBA, but his time with the pass-happy Suns and Warriors (where he currently works as an assistant coach) has clearly had an effect on Leandro Barbosa. The “Brazilian Blur” led the BIG3 in assists last season with 4.3 assists per game while playing for the Ball Hogs. He can still fill it up – the 39-year old Barbosa was second only to Joe Johnson in scoring last season. However, his time with the BIG3 has shown that he’s become a true lead guard. Not only did he lead the league in assists, but his assist/turnover ratio was an off-the-charts 4.25/1, which was second in the league behind Jason Richardson.

Shot-Blocking:

The 6’11 Chris Johnson led the BIG3 in blocks per game last season, averaging 1.4 blocks per game with the Triplets and the Ghost Ballers, the latter of whom traded for him in Week 6. That was no fluke, either. Johnson is second all-time in career blocks at LSU, behind only Shaquille O’Neal. Johnson isn’t just a big body. He has serious hops, and actually won a dunk contest in the CBA in 2014. Combine that with an obvious aptitude for timing his blocks, and you have perhaps the most fearsome rim protector in the BIG3.

Dunking:

The BIG3 is home to some of the best dunkers in the history of the NBA. Josh Smith, James “Flight” White, Jason Richardson, and Jamario Moon have all called the BIG3 their home. However, the player most likely to provide a poster in the BIG3 right now is former 3-time Drew League MVP Franklin “Frank Nitty” Session. If you don’t believe me, just ask Jason Maxiell. The 6’2 Session’s athleticism allowed him to make an impact on the other side of the floor as well. He snatched a league-high 11 steals with the Killer 3s last season, and managed to block 7 shots, which was the third-highest total in the league. Where Frank Nitty goes, big plays follow.