The Dream Shake speaks to Ice Cube and Clyde Drexler ahead of the BIG3 Kickoff in Houston

At a press conference call on Wednesday, BIG3 co-CEO Ice Cube, Commissioner and Rockets legend Clyde Drexler, and Chairman of the Board Amy Trask spoke to media about the beginning of the BIG3’s 2018 season.

BIG3 action kicks off tonight at the Toyota Center and many ex-Rockets will be putting their sneakers back on and competing at the highest level in the 3-on-3 game in the world.

Clyde Drexler cited that Rockets fans should be excited to watch Power for the upcoming season. Power was coached by Clyde Drexler last season (now coached by Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman) and is being co-captained by former Rocket Cuttino Mobley for the second straight season.

“Power should be a strong candidate to win the title,” Drexler said. “They’ve got an incredibly talented team.”

Power is led by Mobley and longtime NBA veteran Corey Maggette and accompanied by Chris “Birdman” Andersen, Glen Davis, Quentin Richardson, and Ryan Gomes.

Other former Rockets participating in the BIG3 this year include Mike James (Killer 3’s), Bonzi Wells (Tri-State), and Jermaine Taylor (Ball Hogs).

Tonight’s BIG3 action is the first action taking place in Houston in league history. When asking Ice Cube about why he wanted Houston as the location for the opening matches in the BIG3 season, he was very positive about the atmosphere Houston provides.

“I really wanted us to come here year 1, it didn’t work out, so we were looking forward to coming year 2,” Ice Cube said. “We believe this is going to be a great turnout and this will be one of our stops that we’ll always look forward to always coming back to. By Clyde being our commissioner, it just kinda all worked out perfectly to be honest.”

Drexler added that very few cities get the opportunity to host a BIG3 game and that Houston was a city the league had to visit.

“There are only going to be 10 games every summer for the BIG3. So those cities are sacred” Drexler said. “We want to make sure we optimize the market value of the BIG3, and that our players have the absolute best time during the game, and that our fans appreciate our product.”

The festivities kick off this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. outside Toyota Center with a free live performance from Ice Cube and games beginning at 5:30.