Lance Stephenson blew in LeBron James' ear to get under his skin – and the NBA loved him for it.
Now he's throwing actual punches at guys he used to share locker rooms with in the summer basketball league that Ice Cube built for ex-NBA players.
The rapper's BIG3 league just opened its ninth season – and the man himself had to apologize before the week was over.
What Happened on CBS
The BIG3 is a three-on-three summer league Ice Cube founded in 2017 for former NBA players to keep competing after their careers ended.
It opened its ninth season Saturday on CBS in Los Angeles.
The first game lasted about three quarters.
Michael Beasley – a former No. 2 overall NBA draft pick – got into a physical fight with Dwight Howard, the eight-time NBA All-Star, in the second half.
Beasley was ejected.
Then Lance Stephenson – a former Indiana Pacers guard best known for once blowing in LeBron James' ear during the NBA playoffs to get under his skin – committed a hard foul on a third player, Jordan Crawford, and started swinging at him.
Stephenson was ejected.
Two ejections left Miami 305 with only two active players on a three-on-three roster, and referees had no choice.
They called a 39-30 forfeit.
BIG3 Commissioner Clyde Drexler – yes, "The Glide" from the Portland Trail Blazers – handed down one-game suspensions to both Beasley and Stephenson.
Howard, who was involved in the initial skirmish with Beasley, received no suspension – drawing immediate questions about whether the league applies its rules evenly.
Ice Cube went on X the next morning and wrote: "Apologies to everybody watching the Miami 305 vs. LA Riot on CBS yesterday. We all wanted to see a great basketball game. That wasn't it."
The founder of the league apologizing for his opening day.
That's where we are.
These Were Grown Men Who Knew Better
Twenty-two years ago, Ron Artest charged into the stands during a Pacers-Pistons game in Detroit and basketball nearly ate itself alive.
Nine players suspended.
Over $11 million in salary lost.
Artest alone sat out 86 games – still the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history.
The Pacers had a real shot at the championship that year.
They never recovered.
Every player in the BIG3 was alive for that.
Most of them watched it happen on television.
The whole point of Stephenson's game was staying on the right side of the line.
Saturday, he ran through it at full speed.
Beasley had been trash-talking Howard for days before the opener, and the two escalated into a physical confrontation on the court.
When Beasley went down, Stephenson should have walked away.
Instead, he threw punches at a different player entirely.
The Worst Possible Week for This
Ten days before opening day, Ice Cube announced the BIG3 is going public – targeting a $290 million valuation on the NYSE or Nasdaq before the end of 2026.
Shareholder approval from his merger partner is due this Friday.
Ice Cube spent the weeks before the season calling this league "Basketball Heaven" and bragging that his defending champions – Miami 305 – would be impossible to beat because the BIG3 forces champions to run it back with the same roster.
Those champions just got themselves thrown out of the opening game and handed the other team a forfeit on CBS.
Investors watching a sports property try to go public want to see organization and discipline.
They saw punches and an apology tweet.
The Malice at the Palace broke one championship-caliber team.
This could be the moment that defines how seriously anyone ever takes the BIG3 – right before Ice Cube asks Wall Street to value it at a quarter-billion dollars.
One-game suspensions for the players who threw punches.
Nothing for the player who started it.
Ice Cube built something real over nine years, and his own players just handed him the worst possible headline at the worst possible moment.
Sources:
- "BIG3 game called off after Lance Stephenson throws punches," Larry Brown Sports, June 20, 2026.
- "Ice Cube apologizes after Lance Stephenson brawl leads to ejection, forfeit in BIG3 opening weekend," OutKick/Fox News, June 21, 2026.
- "Miami 305 Forfeits BIG3 Season Opener After Michael Beasley, Dwight Howard and Lance Stephenson Ejections in Chaotic Brawl," Hardwood Heroics, June 21, 2026.
- "Big3 league to go public after $290 million valuation," ESPN, June 2026.
- "BIG3 Schedule Released as Ice Cube Hypes 2026 Season as 'Basketball Heaven,'" Bleacher Report, May 5, 2026.
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