Nancy Lieberman has accomplished almost everything one can in the world of basketball.
As a player, she won a pro championship, took home an Olympic silver medal and was NCAA female athlete of the year. The Hall of Famer has coached in the NBA and WNBA and is now looking for her second BIG3 championship.
Lieberman won her first BIG3 title with the Dallas Power in 2018, and her team is in great position for another. The Power have a 7-1 record, and their 73 point differential is more than double the second-best team in the three-on-three basketball league.
While the team had a great regular season, Lieberman said none of that matters come the playoffs, which start Saturday at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The Power face Miami 305 at 1 p.m. The action starts at 11 a.m. with a celebrity game and the first semifinal between the Chicago Triplets and the Boston Ball Hogs. The semifinal winners advance to the championship game Aug. 22 in Charlotte, N.C.
“You can’t win a championship if you don’t make the playoffs,” Lieberman said. “We’re 7-1, and we’re in first place, but as of Saturday, that doesn’t mean anything. There’s four really great teams there, and it’s going to be about execution and not turning the ball over, making sure we can move the defense and get the shots that we’re looking for.”
The Power are a family affair, with Lieberman coaching her son T.J. Cline, a Plano native who played college basketball at Richmond and has played professionally in Israel.
“If anybody says they don’t want to coach their kid, one, I’m going to throw a little lie detector on them because I’m going to watch that little needle jump,” Lieberman said. “Last year he was the most improved player in the league. … I’m proud of him. He didn’t have to earn my respect; he had to earn the respect of his peers.”
One aspect of the league Lieberman pointed out was how it could bring together people who might not otherwise meet, like two of her friends from Highland Park who talked about falling in love with the BIG3 and the personalities involved like rappers Ice Cube, NLE Choppa and 2 Chainz.
She also talked about what makes the league unique, pointing out that three-on-three, in some ways, is a purer distillation of basketball than five-on-five.
“It’s pure basketball. Basketball is one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three,” Lieberman said. “You never see in an NBA game 10 players on one side of the court because then you have no spacing and it’s clutter. So here there’s more space. Players have to learn spacing, driving lanes, how to attack mismatches.
“There’s more decisions that you make in three-on-three, which I love. Almost every possession involves cutting, switching, screen slipping, cuts, help, attack. You have to have better individual defense because you don’t have that weak-side defense.”
The state of the WNBA
Lieberman, one of the most notable women’s basketball players of all time, also gave her take on the much-discussed state of the WNBA.
“The WNBA is in a great place, but, you know, with growth comes growing pains and trying to figure out who we are, what we are,” she said. “I think they’ve aligned themselves over time. It’s hard to stay out of politics, but it’s embedded on some level, whether it’s done intentionally or not intentionally. I think social media has been one of the worst things. … People are angry.
“But at the end of the day, the WNBA just got a $2.2 billion media deal. The players were happy with the collective bargaining agreement. … We have great young people in this league.”
Lieberman also talked about the recent controversy with former NBA player Royce White, who announced he would try to play in the WNBA in an attempt to make a point about the league’s policy on transgender women.
“Now you’re pitting the coaches against trans athletes, and you know, somebody called me the other day. ‘So, are you proud of Royce White?’ He played for me for three years, so I guess he’s representing Team Power next year and trying out for the WNBA,” Lieberman said. “[I called him and] said, ‘Royce, man. Oh, what are you doing?’ He goes, ‘The Lord’s work.’ It’s so funny to me. The Lord’s work. So everybody’s going to do what they have to do. We just have to figure out how to enjoy and how to empower each other.”
Lieberman also opined on Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington’s recent hard foul on Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and Carrington’s post of “White Privilege” on X after the game.
“Somebody told me a long time ago, don’t ever make decisions based on emotion because you’ll almost always make the wrong decision. I think DiJonai made the wrong decision, and I love her game,” Lieberman said. “Don’t get on your phone. And what did white privilege have to do with clotheslining somebody?”
Lieberman also talked about her favorite players and teams, specifically citing Dallas Wings stars Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale.
“Paige Bueckers is great. She is worth every nickel to watch her play because of how she plays. Arike is Arike I mean, she’s one of the great shooter-scorers this league has had. All-time leading scorer for the Wings,” Lieberman aid. “[First-round pick] Azzi Fudd comes in, and what she’s done defensively, people all talk about her offense. Her defense is just as stout. … They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
Game schedule dates, times, locations Aug. 3 San Francisco 5, Rangers 1 Aug. 4 Rangers 5, San Francisco 4 Aug. 5 Rangers 6, San Francisco 0 Aug. 7 Rangers 2, Baltimore 1 Aug. 8 Rangers 5, Baltimore 1 Aug. 9 Baltimore 10, Rangers 5 Aug. 10 at L.A. Angels, 8:38 p.m., RSN Aug. 11 at L.A. Angels, 8:38 p.m., RSN Aug. 12 at L.A. Angels, 9:10 p.m., ESPN Aug. 13 at L.A. Angels, 9:07 p.m., RSN Aug. 14 at Athletics, 8:40 p.m., CW Aug. 15 at Athletics, 8:40 p.m., RSN Aug. 16 at Athletics, 3:05 p.m., RSN July 31 Washington 81, Wings 75 Aug. 2 Wings 83, Connecticut 63 Aug. 5 Washington 96, Wings 92 Aug. 7 Golden State 94, Wings 76 Aug. 9 Minnesota 103, Wings 90 Aug. 12 vs. Toronto, 7 p.m., KFAA, USA Aug. 14 at Indiana, 6:30 p.m., Ion Aug. 17 at Golden State, 9 p.m., KFAA, NBCSN, Peacock Aug. 20 vs. Indiana (at American Airlines Center), 7 p.m., ABC, KFAA, Amazon Prime Aug. 23 vs. Seattle, 3 p.m., KFAA, NBATV Preseason Aug. 15 at Seattle, 7 p.m., CBS, NFL Network Aug. 22 at Arizona, 9 p.m., CBS, NFL Network Aug. 28 vs. New Orleans, 7 p.m., CBS Regular season Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), 11 a.m., ESPN Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ESPN+ Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN Sept. 5 at Indiana, 11 a.m., Fox Sept. 12 vs. UNLV, 2:45 p.m., ESPNU Sept. 19 at Texas State, 11 a.m., USA Sept. 26 vs. Houston Christian, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ Oct. 1 at Tulsa, 8 p.m., ESPN Oct. 10 vs. Charlotte, TBA Oct. 24 at Navy, 2:30 p.m. CBSSN Oct. 29 vs. Florida Atlantic, 6:30 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2 Nov. 7 vs. Rice, TBA Nov. 14 at UTSA, TBA Nov. 21 at Tulane, TBA Nov. 28 vs. UAB, TBA All home games at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium Aug. 27 vs. Central Oklahoma, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at McNeese State, 6 p.m. Sept. 12 vs. Texas College, 6 p.m. Sept. 26 vs. Nelson, 6 p.m. Oct. 3 at Arkansas Baptist, 2 p.m. Oct. 10 at Louisiana Christian, 2 p.m. Oct. 17 vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 at Langston, 2 p.m. Oct. 31 vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State, 2 p.m. Nov. 7 at Ottawa (Arizona), 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at Wayland Baptist, 2 p.m. July 22 FC Dallas 2, Portland 2 July 25 San Diego 1, FC Dallas 0 Aug. 1 FC Dallas 0, LA Galaxy 0 Aug. 5 FC Dallas 2, Queretaro 0 (Leagues Cup) Aug. 8 FC Dallas 1, Chivas de Guadalajara 0 (Leagues Cup) Aug. 12 at Toluca (Mexico), 9 p.m., Apple TV (Leagues Cup) Aug. 16 at Austin, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Aug. 19 at Salt Lake, 8:30 p.m., Apple TV Aug. 22 at Vancouver, 8:30 p.m., Apple TV Aug. 30 at St. Louis, 6 p.m., Apple TV Aug. 29 Team Texas: David Starr’s Racing School Sept. 5 NASCAR Racing Experience Sept. 19 Drift n Drag Sept. 19 Black Light Run Sept. 25-26 Dumpster Expo Oct. 1-3 Dirt Track Championship Oct. 2-3 Goodguys Lone Star Nationals Oct. 14 Tony Stewart Bowling Tournament Oct. 16-17 High Limit Racing Championship Oct. 29-31 POWRi Racing
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Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.