Lamar Odom, other ex-NBA players depart from BIG3 basketball league

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Lamar Odom and some other ex-NBA players were cut from the BIG3 basketball league this week, the league said Wednesday.

Odom -- along with Baron Davis, Bonzi Wells and Jermaine O’Neal -- will not play for the remainder of BIG3’s third season so the league can “maximize competition, protect the health of players and raise the level of professionalism of BIG3,” the league said in a statement.

The BIG3 league was launched in 2017 by actor Ice Cube and media executive Jeff Kwatinetz. It features three-on-three, half-court basketball that has allowed some older players to prolong their careers.

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PHOENIX, AZ - JANUARY 24: Lamar Odom #7 of the Los Angeles Clippers during the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center on January 24, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Clippers 93-88. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom played in the NBA from 1999 until 2013. (Getty Images)

“As the premier professional 3-on-3 league in the world, we are always striving to improve the quality of both the live and broadcast experience for our fans as well as the level of competition,” the statement read. “In addition, the smooth running of our internal organization, while in great shape for a young third-year league, needs to be improved and ongoing changes will continue to be implemented and finalized next Monday.”

Odom, 39, had joined the league only last month. It was his first venture into professional basketball since his near-fatal overdose at a Nevada brothel. The former college star at Rhode Island -- who played on championship Los Angeles Lakers teams in 2009 and 2010 -- hasn't been on an NBA roster since 2014 with the New York Knicks, but he didn’t play a game for them that year.

Davis, 40, later posted on Twitter stating that he had “decided to no longer participate in the @thebig3” because “I don’t feel it is in my best interest to play, all love to the guys, stay connected and protect yourselves.”

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Meanwhile, former NBA player Glen “Big Baby” Davis, 33, is facing fines after he was ejected from last weekend’s game for arguing with the referees, the league said. He is, however, still eligible for his BIG3 team's Saturday game “as it has been determined a suspension is not required given the level of the fine.”