Ice Cube is getting ready to take his Sherman Oaks-based 3-on-3 basketball league, BIG3, to the stock market, turning the upstart summer circuit into a publicly traded company called Big3 Basketball Holdings. The league plans to merge with Texas based SPAC Graf Global Corp., a deal that carries an implied valuation of about $290 million and targets a future stock listing under the ticker symbol TONT.
BIG3 and Graf Global have signed a definitive business combination agreement that would rename the post-merger company Big3 Basketball Holdings, Inc., with an expected listing on either the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE American or Nasdaq in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to a press release from Business Wire. The announcement pegs BIG3's value at $290 million on a pre money basis and notes that 100 percent of existing equity and equity linked interests are expected to roll into common stock when the deal closes.
Terms and regulatory steps
The mechanics of the deal are detailed in a Form 8 K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which states that closing is conditioned on at least $50 million in net cash proceeds coming from Graf's trust after redemptions, along with other customary approvals. The filing also reports that Graf's trust held approximately $249 million as of June 10, 2026, and that Graf shareholders must vote to extend the deadline to complete its initial business combination. SEC.
Owners pitch access and growth
Cofounders O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson and Jeff Kwatinetz frame the move as a way to open ownership to a wider group of backers and speed up the league's global ambitions. Kwatinetz has flagged media rights, sponsorship and licensing as key growth areas and told the Los Angeles Business Journal that BIG3 is exploring new markets in Asia and has discussed staging games in London, Toronto and the Bahamas.
What this means for fans and investors
League executives say a public listing would let fans participate economically in BIG3 while putting fresh growth capital into the business. They point to an average audience of more than 550,000 viewers on CBS and over a billion social media impressions last season as proof that the product is gaining traction, figures highlighted in the companies' announcement through Business Wire. For anyone who already plans summer weekends around BIG3 games, the pitch is basically that you could one day cheer the league and own a piece of it at the same time.
Timeline and leadership
The parties say they expect the combination to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to a registration statement being declared effective by the SEC, stock exchange approvals, shareholder votes and other regulatory checks. After the deal, the company is expected to stick with the current BIG3 leadership structure, with Ice Cube serving as chief executive officer, Jeff Kwatinetz as chairman, Sean Bannon as president and Clyde Drexler as commissioner, according to the filing with the SEC.
Local note: season and home base
BIG3, headquartered in Sherman Oaks, tipped off its ninth season on June 20 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and has its championship game scheduled for August in Charlotte, a one two punch the league says makes 2026 a logical moment to look for public capital. Coverage of the announcement and the season schedule places those dates and venues in the context of the planned deal, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
If completed, the transaction would rank as one of the first examples of a full sports league going public, not just a single team or related media play. Potential investors, however, will want to keep an eye on shareholder redemptions from the SPAC, the extension vote and the final SEC review before any shares start trading. For Los Angeles fans, the deal keeps BIG3's Sherman Oaks footprint and its summer hoops showcase front and center while the league tries to turn a local base and national TV audience into a bigger stage on Wall Street.
