In the last 24 hours, rumors suggested Kobe Bryant was making a comeback in Ice Cube’s BIG3 3-on-3 league. Sadly, those rumors are BS.
Forget that Kobe to the #BIG3 idea. Molly Carter, chief marketing officer of Kobe Inc., says he definitely is not playing next year.
— Brian Mahoney (@briancmahoney) August 21, 2018
Where did this crazy rumor begin? From Big3 co-owner Jeff Kwatinetz himself.
In an interview with Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports, Kwantinetz said he heard “from a credible source” Kobe is going to be playing next year.
Cube: “We have a list of people that we would love to see, I think the fans would love to see. The fans would love to see Kobe, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. Anybody who still has the passion to play. We don’t want you if you don’t have the passion to play. If Kobe doesn’t have the passion to play at this level, then it’s better for him to watch on tv. If he has the passion, then here we are.”
Kwatinetz: “I did hear from a credible source that Kobe is going to be playing next year. That’s something, but it may be nothing.”
Cube: “That would be amazing.”
The Internet took those comments and made it sound like a sure thing Kobe was coming to the BIG3. In reality, that’s a ridiculous idea for numerous reasons. Kobe is nearly 40 and is to busy winning Oscars to consider coming back to basketball. And even if he was, why on Earth would he choose the Big3 and not join LeBron and the Lakers? The rumor was just that.
