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The BIG3 league's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad opening day

Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

A man makes plans - and the basketball gods laugh.

The initial returns from those in attendance at the inaugural game day of Ice Cube's BIG3 league haven't been kind to the fledgling three-on-three, half-court product. We can only take their word on the matter because the league (or, Fox Sports) is opting to show Sunday's games on tape delay Monday night on FS1.

To be fair, tape delay is a pretty common occurrence in fringe sport programming. Just ask any fan of darts, lumberjack competitions, or professional waterskiing.

From the tip, the upstart league was dealt a blow when one of their most high-profile participants, Chauncey Billups, withdrew, evidently to pursue a role in the Cleveland Cavaliers' vacant front office.

At least Chauncey got out with this knees intact. Other weren't so lucky.

But the early missteps would have been forgotten if the third of fourth matchups on the slate delivered high excitement.

After all, most of the hoopheads that shelled out hard-earned money to catch a glimpse of live, professional half-court basketball were really there to see Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, the player-coach of 3s Company, making a triumphant return to the hardcourt.

Iverson's introduction was his greatest triumph of the afternoon, however.

Iverson may still be The Answer, but the question is: "Which player sold fans a bill of goods?" If you're looking for a silver lining, maybe his showing on Sunday erased the memory of his ill-fated three-game tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Perhaps the fourth and final game of the day could have redeemed the otherwise mundane spectacle. It didn't matter to many in attendance, though, as beating the traffic seemed to be a bigger draw than the Billups-less Killer 3s squaring off against Kenyon Martin's Trilogy.

Keeping with the theme of the day, it was only fitting that yet another big-name player was added to the injury report.

You can catch the BIG3 next in Charlotte, N.C., on July 2. Or, relive Sunday's event in all its tape-delayed glory Monday evening at 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1.

Alternatively, the NBA Summer League kicks off in Orlando on July 1, followed by events in Utah and Vegas in the subsequent weeks. Thank goodness.

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