At the end of the day, it’s not only about Team USA’s hoopers’ dominating run. On Sunday, the US men in 3×3 basketball faced an embarrassing exit from the Paris Olympics, losing 5 of their 7 pool games. While many barely batted their eye on the humiliating defeat, rapper O’Shea Jackson Sr. A.K.A Ice Cube grabbed everyone’s attention and promised to avenge Team USA. He raised the stakes after he challenged the 3×3 gold winners for a $150,000 bet! Despite Jimmer Fredette and Co.’s exit, the bet is still on, in fact, the rapper reiterated the challenge.

Ice Cube certainly isn’t happy about the way things have gone with Team USA’s 3×3 squad, right from the roster selection. He highlighted that stars from his league, Big3 basketball league, should be included in the next Olympics, which is set to take place in Los Angeles. In Ice Cube’s challenge to the gold medal winners to compete in an exhibition game against the Big-3 Basketball’s All-Stars for $150,000, Pat McAfee promised to offer $100,000.

While the rapper’s open challenge revolved across the internet for a while, Ice Cube brought it up again after Team USA’s 21-6 loss against the Netherlands. He said, “They got their a** kicked. They need our players without a doubt. The whole world can see that. Okay, gold-medal winners, it’s your homeboy Ice Cube, whatever country wins the gold medal, y’all need to come to Boston, we are gonna pay for your trip to Boston, hotels, get your little cash, and let’s see who’s the best in the world.”

“We believe that our All-Stars will take you down. And if you don’t believe it, we’ll see y’all in Boston.” Confidence is something the rapper doesn’t seem to be lacking, that’s for sure!

While the 3×3 tournament heading into the semi-final round, featuring Latvia, France, Netherlands, and Lithuania; Ice Cube & Co. waits to know their opponent for the proposed upcoming challenge. However, why is he so relevant in this space? For those who’ve forgotten, let’s jog your memory.

Ice Cube once warned the NBA to stop working “against” his Big3 Championship

One might wonder why Ice Cube would involve himself in a 3×3 basketball challenge. Well, he founded the Big-3 Basketball, 7 years ago. This isn’t the first time when the star rapper has stirred up a controversy. Notably, he has never-ending beef with the NBA regarding the acceptance of the 3×3. O’Shea Jackson accused the NBA of excluding his league and not embracing the new format. 

“I don’t give a f**k about working with the NBA. What I want them to do, when I say ‘work with us,’ is to stop working against us. Stop doing that bullsh*t behind the scenes,” Ice Cube ranted. Despite running the unique format for so many years, they still lack an in-flow of running sponsorships. CBS and Monster Energy only remain the two consistent names.

Nevertheless, the star rapper has been on to something big with his latest challenge to gold-medal winners. With Team USA’s Jimmer Fredette ending his Olympic stint with a heart-breaking injury, the American audience definitely would love to see a revenge story. While the bet value was promoted as $100,000 for a while, Jackson Sr. recently raised it to $150,000 in a recent interview.

Moreover, he has scheduled the challenge ahead of the Big3’s championship game on August 18 in Boston. So it’s a two-in-one situation for the rapper, as he prepared the fans to witness a comeback story along with their attendance for the Championship game. Will the Big3 All-Stars have the potential to take down the gold medal winners? Let us know in the comments below.

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