Rashard Lewis (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

In the lead up to the BIG3’s highly anticipated Championship Game this Saturday in Las Vegas, the league announced the winners of the inaugural season’s BIG3 Player Awards.  True to the league’s ethos of putting players first, the honorees were all nominated and voted on by the players.

The 3 Headed Monsters’ Rashard Lewis earned the league’s first ever Most Valuable Player award. Despite losing his fellow Player Captain Jason ‘White Chocolate’ Williams to a season-ending injury in the first game, ‘Sweet Lew’ guided his team to the second best record in the league.  Lewis led the league with an impressive 170 points, averaging 21.3 points per game, and shooting better than 50% in all but one game.  He fearlessly guided the 3 Headed Monsters to the Championship Game by securing a semifinals victory last weekend in Seattle, bringing fans to their feet with thunderous cheers for their hometown hero.

Coach of the Year went to the Rick Mahorn. Mahorn coached his Trilogy team to an undefeated regular season which included come from behind victories in two of their final three games.

Mahorn’s player captain, Kenyon Martin, won the award for Player Captain of the Year. Martin selected the Trilogy roster during the draft which led to an undefeated record.

Defensive Player of the Year went to Trilogy player James ‘Flight’ White. White led the the league in plus/minus as the anchor for the undefeated team.

Fellow Trilogy teammate Al Harrington earned the honor of Top Hard to Guard. Harrington’s unique game for someone his size led to the players donning him with this award. The 4th Man went to Al Thorton of the 3’s Company. Thorton came off the bench for 3’s Company and provided a spark all season.

The Big3 League Gets Renewed For Another Season 

Fox Sports announced Wednesday that it has extended its media-rights deal with the BIG3 basketball league.

“In its inaugural year, the league provided competitive, entertaining basketball that really resonated with fans, as evidenced by its television ratings on FS1 and packed arenas across the country,” says Fox Sports Head of Business Operations David Nathanson.

“Working with Fox Sports for another season is an opportunity we are very excited about,” league co-founder Ice Cube said in the press release. “The network understands that the BIG3 is about competitive, hard-nosed, compelling basketball, and they’ve been a great partner to work with during our inaugural season. Our shared vision makes this partnership an ideal fit.”

Next season, the games will air live and will no longer be tape delay. The Big3 filled a great summer time void , left by the NBA.  This could open the door to several other former NBA stars becoming involved next season with the league being picked for another year. There have been several players such as Paul Pierce, Gilbert Arenas, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Garnett all being talked about possibly being recruited to play next season.