It’s not like Calvin Murphy was looking for ways to spend his summer offseason as a Rockets broadcaster.
There are enough fishing holes and golf courses around Houston to keep the former Rockets great occupied. But when the opportunity to coach in Ice Cube’s BIG3 3-on-3 basketball league came about, Murphy was all over it like one of his colorful and flamboyant suits.
“When I was given the opportunity, I had to take it to see what it’s all about,” said Murphy, who will be on the sidelines coaching the Houston Rig Hands when the BIG3 rolls into town on Aug. 2 at the Toyota Center. “I’m glad that I did.”
Murphy, one of Houston’s most beloved figures and true treasures, seems to be having the time of his life in his first season of coaching in the world’s most famous 3-on-3 basketball league. That 1,000-watt smile is there, and so is the intensity with which he played with the Rockets from 1970-1983.
As Murphy likes to put it, this is the fourth quarter of his luxurious career and it’s the first time anybody has hired him as a professional head basketball coach. And the 77-year-old Murphy is determined to make the most of it.
He had been knocking on the BIG3 door for a minute and this past offseason, Rig Hands’ owners Eric Mullins and Milton Carroll saw fit to give Murphy a shot.
“When my turn came up, I was ready,” he said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity and their (Mullins and Carroll) faith in me with their investment.”
Murphy is also excited for the upcoming weekend, when he gets a chance to coach in front of the home crowd for the first time, and in the arena where his No.23 jersey hangs from the rafters. It will be quite a celebration for Murphy, whose Texas Youth Academy band will perform before the 1 p.m. tipoff of the BIG3 four-game event at the Toyota Center.
“It’s going to be a big weekend for me,” said Murphy, whose Rig Hands will take on the Dallas Power in Game 2, which will also be carried on CBS. “My Youth Academy and that attitude of the city accepting the Rig Hand team — it’s going to be good.”
It’s also going to be quite the show once the games tip off. BIG3, which has been around since 2016, has gained notoriety as a legit competitive league that’s comprised of former NBA players and players who never got their shot but are still looking for an opportunity.
Sure, it’s about the entertainment, but the elbows and fists that sometimes fly and bench-clearing indicate how serious the competition is. We saw former NBA stars Dwight Howard and Lance Stephenson go at it earlier in the season.
It all plays out every week in front of live television audiences on CBS and Vice and in front of packed arenas like the Toyota Center is expected to be.
“It’s a helluva concept,” Murphy said. “The guys are real serious about this.
“You have some who want to show they belong, to have a chance to be in the league (NBA) and then you have some who played in the league and still have some game and want to continue to play. There are a lot of people out there, for their own reasons, who want to be involved.”
“Ice Cube and his people came up with a unique league to keep a lot of players living their dreams. There is a lot of talent in this country and there are a lot of players who didn’t get an opportunity who are still playing to show people that they’ve got talent. And this league presents that.”
Calvin Murphy
It’s Murphy’s job to keep his players and their egos in check. That isn’t always easy, especially for Murphy, who comes from a completely different school than these younger players.
“It’s interesting. You are dealing with … Everybody has got an opinion,” he said. “As a coach dealing with adults, you listen to their opinions and then you make your decisions. Not everybody is going to agree with your decisions, but it is what it is.
“There is no pressure in this league. It’s entertainment, but your ego does want you to win.”
Ice Cube, the face and founder of the BIG3, has done a great deal to make the league credible. The league boasts many familiar former NBA players and has also tabbed Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers like Dr. J, George Gervin, Nancy Lieberman, and Gary Payton to coach. Former Rockets and University of Houston legend Clyde Drexler serves as the league’s commissioner.
Murphy sometimes has to pinch himself as he takes stock of who his coaching peers now are.
“Being around these superstars of yesterday who are coaching them: Dr. J, Michael Cooper, Gary Payton, it makes your ego to know that they placed you as one of them to be a part of this organization,” he said.
Murphy is also impressed with Ice Cube and the class in which the organization operates.
“This is first class. We fly first class, and we are in 5-Star hotels. They treat us like Barack Obama. So it feeds our ego. And then it gives you an opportunity to be involved with a person like an Ice Cube, who is all about this basketball. Obviously, he is a great businessman, and to make this kind of thing happen. And he is a genuine individual.”
As for the BIG3 concept, which Murphy likens to playground basketball gone professional, he says, “So far, it’s a very interesting league. I wish I had thought about it.”
