Ghost Ballers – Big3 veterans

Big3’s reputation is growing gradually and the number of viewers of this spectacular league is increasing from year to year. Everything started in 2017 with the idea of Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz.

One team that marked the year 2017 in Fireball was Ghost Ballers. They were present in the Fireball project since its’ beginning and deserved the status of veterans.

The next couple of paragraphs are going to tell you all the necessary informations about them. Their road in the most popular 3×3 league in the world was turbulent.

Which date were Ghost Ballers created?

Ghost Ballers were founded on February 22, 2017. Mike Bibby was appointed as captain and Ricky Davis was signed as co-captain of the club.

Mike was a Sacramento playmaker during their legendary seasons in NBA while Ricky Davis is ex Cleveland and Boston shooting guard.

Which person was the coach of 3 Ghost Ballers in the first season?

George Gervin aka “Iceman” was one of the most important and recognizable playing figures in USA basketball. His most famous team is San Antonio in NBA and George won four rings in the most prestigious 5×5 basketball league in the world.

His including in the 75 greatest players in NBA history tells everything about the value of this player. He played in shooting guard positions and small forward positions.

Gervin took charge of Ghost Ballers in the first season of Fireball.

How the team for the first season was formed?

Ghost Ballers chose Maurice Evans from position 8 and Marcus Banks from position 9 on the draft pool in 2017.  Ivan Johnson was chosen as the third pick later.

Mike Bibby was great at creating actions and making crucial passes.

Ricky Davis was famous for his dunks while he was playing 5×5 basketball and he was a versatile player.

Which players were included in the rest of the team in the first season?

Maurice Evans was playing as a shooting guard or small forward and had played in many NBA teams. As the final pick of the first round, he was expected to contribute a lot to Ghost Ballers’ performances.

Marcus Banks as the second pick was playing on point guard position and he was known for his good defense and ball handling.

Ivan Johnson was the third addition to the roster and his position was a power forward. His most lucrative period was playing for Atlanta Hawks.

Which was the Ghost Ballers’ place in the standings in the first season?

Ghost Ballers finished the regular part of the first season with a 4-4 score in the fourth place in the Big3 standings. They qualified for Final Four which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ghost Ballers were defeated by Trilogy with 50-39 in the semifinal.

A consolation game was played between George Gervin’s team and Power. Ghost Ballers won against Power with 52-39 and won third place.

What did the squad of Ghost Ballers look like in 2018?

Marcus Banks, Mike Bibby, and Ricky Davis stayed for the second season.

Carlos Boozer joined Ballers in 2018 to help them get higher in the Big3 standings. Carlos played as a point forward and was appointed as co-captain of the team right away.  The former NBA legend’s longest spell was in Utah Jazz.

Lee Nailon was chosen as the first pick in the 2018 Draft and played in power forward and small forward positions. Lee was representing different NBA teams and we can say he was an all-around player. Nailon earned the title of best scorer in Israel Basketball Premier League.

Mario West was the last signing of Ghost Ballers and played in the shooting guard position and is widely recognized as a hard worker in defense.

What was the ranking of Ghost Ballers in 2018?

Unlike in 2017, Ghost Ballers finished in eighth place in the regular part of the second Fireball season. They had a disappointing 1-7 score after eight rounds. Of course, Ballers didn’t participate in the play-off after devastating results.

Consolation came in individual awards their player got at the end of the season. Mike Bibby average 3.4 assists and was the statistical leader in the league in that segment of play. Mike was the leader in three-point field goal percentage with 100 and was the best in that category also.

What did their roster look like in 2019?

Mike Bibby, Ricky Davis, and Carlos Boozer continued their playing for Ballers in 2019.

Ghost Ballers picked last in the first round and they chose Jamario Moon. Jamario’s best NBA days were in Cleveland Cavaliers. Moon plays shooting guard and is known as a versatile forward player.

The second pick for them was Alex Scales. Alex plays in the shooting guard position. Scales didn’t have a significant NBA career but still could make long-distance shots.

Mike Taylor was brought in the third round and he played as a point guard. Taylor could contribute to the performance with a high number of points per game.

How did Ghost Ballers end the 2019 season?

The 2019 season was specific because it expanded from 8 to 12 teams.

In the third season, Ghost Ballers took ninth place with four wins and four losses. It was another average performance of Ballers after their successful first season. They didn’t clinch the Final Four but improved since the second season. 

Awards were not won in a collective context, but comforting award came in individual performance. Ricky Davis got the Big Community award and Ghost Ballers want further quality and quantity improvement next season.

What happened with Ghost Ballers in the fourth season in 2021?

Mike Taylor, Ricky Davis, and Chris Johnson stayed in Ghost Ballers for the fourth season.

Chris Smith was picked by Ballers in round 1 of the draft pool. Chris played in the power forward position. Smith previously played in NBA and was a member of Enemies in Big3.

Ghost Ballers chose last in the second round and they pick Cheyne Gadson as the 10th pick. His ability to shoot efficiently of play was a massive asset for this team. Cheyne could enhance guard play in Ballers. Gadson played previously for Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors in NBA.

Which was the result of Ghost Ballers in 2021?

Ghost Ballers took seventh place in fourth place and again missed out on participation in a playoff. Their score was four victories and four defeats which was not enough for a place in Final Four in Nassau, Bahamas. Their disability to repeat result from the first season continued unfortunately and the need for other changes were necessary.

Which player did Ghost Ballers choose in Draft Pool 2022?

Ricky Davis, Mike Taylor, and Chris Johnson remained the members of the roster in the fifth season.

Ghost Ballers went in the first round of the draft for Darnell Jackson, a strong man who played in Power in the 2021 season. Darnell averaged 7.2 points and 4.3 points in the fourth season. Jackson has a soft touch from mid-range distances.

The second pick of Ballers was Jermaine Taylor, a shooting guard, who already had Big3 experience. Jermaine had a horrible injury in 2019 which kept him out of court until 2022.

How did they end the 2022 season?

It was another crash of hopes that Ghost Ballers could enter play-off. They finished in eighth place with a score of 3-4. Ballers can still believe in better days in the future.

Despite a huge concentration of talent in their squad during the last five seasons, Ghost Ballers couldn’t win the trophy in Fireball.  The best result was third place in 2017 and after the first season results were more or less around the same place in the standing.

Something is missing in their roster for bigger achievements. Is it a lack of atmosphere inside the team, balance in the roster, or strong competition? It’s hard to determine, but Ballers can achieve what they dream of if they are persistent enough. Previous stories prove that statement.