LeBron James’ Former Teammates Bank $1 Million After Winning BIG 3 Championship

LeBron James' former teammates Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, and Lance Stephenson played in the BIG 3 championship.

LeBron James’ Former Teammates Bank $1 Million After Winning BIG 3 Championship

LeBron James' former teammates Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley (Image via FirstSportz)

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LeBron James is about to enter season 23. On the contrary, many of his former teammates are no longer in the NBA. Three of them, Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, and Lance Stephenson, are playing in the BIG 3 league.

The trio suited up for Miami 305, who were facing the Chicago Triplets, led by another former teammate of James, Montrezl Harrell, in the championship game.

The BIG 3 uses a typical 3×3 format, unlike the Unrivaled League, which uses a shorter version of a full court for its unique 3×3 style of play. The typical half-court version of the BIG 3 is easier for the older players to handle.

In the championship game, both teams were neck and neck heading into the final possession. Miami 305 had possession of the ball, and it first started when Beasley tried to go one-on-one with his opponent, but instantly faced a double team.

He passed the ball to Lance Stephenson, who also tried to shake his defender off but couldn’t. He gave the ball back to the person he knows all too well to be the better 1v1 player.

Even the opponents knew this, and the Chicago Triplets closed him down. He still had the ball in his hands and surveyed the court. Mario Chalmers was standing behind the 3-point line, but Beasley knew he could get closed down.

The 6′ 9″ forward tried to bait the Triplets into another double team, and as soon as they bought into it, he sent a pass down to Chalmers in the corner, who calmly scored a three. With that basket, they won the $1 million prize money after winning the BIG 3 championship game 52-48.

Michael Beasley finding success in BIG 3 and disappointing in NBA

Before taking part in the 2025 BIG3 championship, Michael Beasley was announced as the MVP. This marks his 2nd MVP win as he seems to be taking to life in this format.

Michael Beasley in the BIG 3 league
Michael Beasley in the BIG 3 league (Image via Hoop Central/X)

He was hyped to be one of the best prospects in the NBA, but fizzled out after being unable to translate his skills to find success there. After bouncing around the league, he had to move abroad to continue earning a paycheck.

Back in his homeland, the 36-year-old has started exploiting the skills he was blessed with. Instead of trying to find another job in regular 5v5 basketball, the Kansas State alum has preferred to focus on 1v1 and 3v3.

A while earlier, he called himself one of the best 1v1 basketball players, something even Kyrie Irving agreed to. He won $100K defeating Miami 305 and former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Lance Stephenson in a highly publicized game.

Now, he has won his 2nd MVP in BIG3 and was the leading scorer in the championship game. After losing all his wealth and his name, Michael Beasley is thriving in a different environment.

LeBron James’ championship-winning teammate takes BIG 3 All-Star MVP honors

5 seasons ago, LeBron James won his 4th NBA title. From that team, just 6 players, including the Akron native, remain in the league. The rest are either playing abroad or, like most, retired.

One of them, 39-year-old Dwight Howard, has tried to come back into the NBA since last playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2021-22 season.

However, that has not come to fruition, and the league has essentially made him a Hall of Famer even though he has not officially handed in his retirement papers.

The center, though, has played in the BIG 3 with the LA Riot squad this season. Once they were knocked out of the playoffs, Howard was invited to play in the All-Star game ahead of the championship. In the game, the 6′ 10″ center scored 23 points and 12 rebounds to lift the All-Star MVP trophy.

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