BIG3 NFT Buyers Take Ice Cube's Basketball League to Arbitration Over Promised Team Ownership Rights

Sakai LLP says purchasers were sold “ownership” in pro basketball teams, then watched the league sell those teams without them.

People who bought NFTs from the BIG3, the professional 3-on-3 basketball league co-founded by Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz, are now pursuing claims against the league through mass individual arbitration, according to the law firm Sakai LLP.

The firm, led by attorney Joseph Sakai, announced that claims against BIG3 HoldCo LLC are moving forward and is inviting other NFT purchasers to come forward.

Buyers Say They Were Promised a Piece of the Team

At the center of the dispute is how the BIG3 marketed its NFT program. According to the claims, the league sold the digital tokens as ownership interests in professional basketball teams.

Purchasers allege they were told the NFTs came with real ownership-related rights, including voting authority on future team sales, a share of proceeds if a team was sold, season tickets, and other perks the league allegedly described as lasting “forever.”

Teams Were Sold, but NFT Holders Say They Got Nothing

The claimants say those promises fell apart when the BIG3 later sold multiple teams. According to the filings, NFT holders received neither the voting rights nor the financial participation they believed they had bought into.

The claimants argue the league’s public statements about the NFT ownership program were materially false and misleading as a result.

The arbitration cases assert a range of claims, including alleged violations of California securities laws, fraudulent misrepresentation, concealment, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.

Why Buyers Have to Act on Their Own

Because the cases are proceeding as individual arbitrations instead of a class action, BIG3 NFT holders will not be automatically included. Anyone who purchased or otherwise acquired a BIG3 NFT and wants to pursue a claim needs to take steps to file their own case.

Sakai LLP is handling the matters on a contingency-fee basis, meaning clients pay no attorneys’ fees unless there is a recovery.

BIG3 Denies Wrongdoing

The allegations have not been proven, and the BIG3 denies any wrongdoing.

Sakai LLP is a litigation firm with offices in San Francisco and Las Vegas that focuses on complex commercial disputes, securities litigation, arbitration, class actions, and corporate governance matters.