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Rachel DeMita is a sports influencer with more than 1 million followers on social media, a podcast host, a former basketball player at Old Dominion and she recently added a new title to her professional resume – exclusive courtside commentator for the BIG3.
DeMita’s role with the BIG3 was announced on Monday. She will be giving basketball fans a behind-the-scenes look into the upstart basketball league and amplifying the voices of the star-studded league, which include Nancy Liberman, Lisa Leslie, Jason Richardson, Frank Nitty and other former NBA players.
Rachel DeMita takes the floor during player introductions prior to the NBA All-Star Game Celebrity Game at Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 16, 2018. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
“It’s a little different than your traditional sideline reporter,” DeMita told Fox News Digital of the role. “… We’re also going to make sure that there’s a fun spin to it.
“I also do a lot of content on social media and with the media landscape changing as much as it has over the past few years, just knowing what the basketball audience and the BIG3 audience wants to see and what’s going to excite them. What are some of the little questions that we can ask? What behind the scenes content can we give them that’s interesting to them, gets them more invested in the players and coaches and the culture of the league?”
DeMita said she was first introduced to the BIG3 League when Allen Iverson was a player-coach for 3’s Company in its inaugural season in 2017. Since then, the Ice Cube-founded league has seen legends of the game come and go.
Rachel DeMita attends the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles as a part of NBA All-Star Weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 16, 2018. (Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images)
Lieberman and Leslie have been a few of the women involved in the 3-on-3 league, with Lieberman becoming the first female coach to win the championship in 2018. Leslie followed her in 2019.
DeMita said she was excited to be able to work with both of them.
“At the draft is the first time I met (Lieberman). Obviously, I’ve known about Nancy. She’s a legend and the best player to ever come out of ODU. One of the reasons why I initially went there, it’s so cool. And honestly, just meeting her too, I was like, oh, she’s still a hooper. You just get that vibe from some people. And Nancy is like, if she had her shoes, like she would have laced up and been out there on the court.
“Leslie is also part of the BIG3. So, to have these women who are super impactful in the basketball landscape, to be a part of this, and be successful in the league is super cool.”
The 2024 season begins Saturday in Oakland, California. Games are broadcast on CBS.
The BIG3 logo prior to the game between the Aliens and the Trilogy in BIG3 Week Four at Comerica Center on July 10, 2022, in Frisco, Texas. (Logan Riely/Getty Images for BIG3)
Brian Scalabrine is also a sideline commentator for the league. The broadcast team also includes Brian Custer, Jim Jackson, Ed Cohen and Avery Johnson.
