George Gervin, Joe Johnson introduce new team

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• The Detroit Amplifiers, a new BIG3 team coached by George Gervin and led by Joe Johnson, were introduced at a press conference.
• The Amplifiers will play their only home game of the season at Little Caesars Arena on July 20.
• BIG3 features 3-on-3 half-court basketball with a 4-point shot.

Detroit’s newest professional basketball team has officially arrived.

The newly formed Detroit Amplifiers (Amps) of the BIG3 League, coached by Basketball Hall of Famer George Gervin and featuring seven-time NBA All-Star Joe Johnson, held an introductory news conference on Tuesday, June 10, in downtown Detroit in front of the Born in Detroit store on Woodward Avenue.

The Amps’ ownership group and roster, which features EuroLeague veteran (and Amps team captain) Jeremy Pargo and former NBA forward Darnell Jackson.

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Gervin, who was raised on the east side of Detroit and attended Detroit King before heading to Eastern Michigan, said he looks forward to coaching a professional team in his hometown.

“I love Detroit. Man, it’s where my stage was,” he said. “And now to have an opportunity to coach in a professional league again? I relish it, man. I really look forward to it so much.”

Gervin, 73, also has an ownership stake in the Amps as part of the GameAbove Sports ownership group. Also among the ownership group are former NFL Pro Bowl offensive lineman T.J Lang and Born in Detroit co-founder Anthony Tomey.

Also in attendance was Detroit deputy mayor Melia Howard, who called celebrating the city at events like this “the most fun part of my job.”

“We want everyone to know that Detroit supports the Amps, and we all know that we are a historic and storied city when it comes to sports,” she said. “But these young men are doing something phenomenal, and I want to make sure that we continue to be here for them.”

The Amps will get to call Detroit their stage when they play their one home game of the 2025 season at Little Caesars Arena on July 20. BIG3 has introduced a city-based team structure to its tour this season, with all eight teams — the seven others are based in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami — each hosting a home game this summer.

Johnson, 43, is an 18-year former NBA veteran and the team’s biggest star, as he was named the league’s MVP for the title-winning Triplets in 2019. The Pistons signed Johnson after his BIG3 breakout in 2019, but waved him soon after without him playing in an NBA game for Detroit.

But Johnson has stuck with the BIG3 ever since and looks forward to rooting a new team in Detroit.

“We’re probably at the highest point that it’s ever been,” he said, referring to the league’s status. “We learned so much about the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan. It’s been fun, man, so I expect it to grow, to continue to get better, and we’re here to bring winning basketball to Detroit.”

BIG3, which was founded by musician and actor Ice Cube and had its debut season in 2017, features halfcourt, 3-on-3 basketball with similar rules as its FIBA counterpart. Unlike 3-on-3 Olympic basketball and NBA basketball, however, BIG3 features zones beyond the 3-point line where players can score four points per made shot.

That’s a feature that Gervin thinks the NBA might soon adopt:

“I think they’re going to put in that 4-point shot like we got in the BIG3, so that’ll make it really entertaining,” he said.

Johnson, however, isn’t convinced the NBA needs that sort of change:

“I’d love if you implemented it in the All-Star game,” he said. “But a regular-season game? No, I don’t think it needs it.”

The Amps begin BIG3 play on Saturday, June 14, at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, (just outside of Chicago) with a matchup against Miami 305.

You can reach Christian at [email protected].