Donte Greene never really walked away from basketball. He just changed the setting.
Three years after retiring from professional basketball, the former Syracuse forward is still out there firing away from deep, only now the game fits around family life instead of pulling him away from it. Greene spent four years in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings, then stretched his career across nine more seasons overseas before stepping away from that grind to stay closer to his four children.
“I ended up retiring because I didn’t want to be away from my four kids,’’ Greene said. “It gets old being away and, for me, not being able to be the hands-on dad that I always wanted to be. Even before I retired, I was only taking 3- and 4-month jobs, so I wasn’t away for as long.
“I might have retired from playing professionally overseas,’’ he added, “but I never wanted to give up the game of basketball.’’
That’s where the Big3 comes in. The 6-foot-11 Greene just finished his seventh season in Ice Cube’s 3-on-3 league, a place that has become a summer home for a long list of former NBA players and a way for Greene to keep competing without disappearing for months at a time.
“To still be able to play in the summer and hang out,’’ said Greene, “it’s a blessing.’’
This summer, Greene wasn’t the only former Orange player in the league. Wes Johnson, who spent the 2009-10 season at Syracuse, played for the Chicago Triplets.
Chicago tied for second before falling to the Boston Ball Hogs in the semifinals last Saturday. Boston now meets the Dallas Power in the Big3 championship game on Saturday, with CBS set to televise it at 1 p.m.
Greene’s path to the Big3 goes back to the league’s beginning in 2017, when he first heard about it from Corey Maggette. Greene was still overseas then, so nothing came of it right away.
“Corey reached out to me,’’ Greene said, “but I was still playing overseas.’’
Two years later, Greene had to come back to the United States for surgery on his hand, and Maggette came calling again. By then, the Big3 had already started drawing familiar NBA names such as Stephen Jackson, Joe Johnson, Chris “Birdman’’ Anderson, Glen “Big Baby’’ Davis and Cuttino Mobley.
Greene signed on with the Killer 3s and helped them win the 2019 championship. He stayed with that team for four years before moving to the Detroit Amps this summer.
For Greene, the appeal is bigger than just staying on a roster. The league gives him a chance to keep playing while also keeping his life grounded.
“There’s so many former NBA guys that it’s a modified version of the NBA,’’ Greene said. “The camaraderie we have with each other is great.
We only play on weekends. My kids get to travel with me.
Family and friends get to watch me play in the States.
“It’s a good time.’’
Detroit’s coach this summer was Rick Mahorn, the former Pistons enforcer whose style still carries the same edge.
“He coaches just like he played,” Greene said. “He’s tough.
He doesn’t hold back. He doesn’t sugar-coat anything.
Play hard and do your job.”
Greene also pointed to the man at the center of the league’s identity. In his view, Ice Cube’s presence has been a major reason the Big3 has stuck.
“I didn’t realize how much he loves basketball until I started playing in the Big3,” Greene said. ”He shows up to every game.”
Greene said Cube’s celebrity matters less than the way he carries himself around players and fans.
“He’s legendary in the entertainment world, but Ice is Ice,” Greene said. “He’s not big-time. He’ll stop and take pictures and sign autographs and talk to everybody.”
Greene’s children have gotten to meet him, too.
“My oldest loves him,” Greene said.
That oldest child is Donte Jr., a 6-foot-6 junior at Accelerate Academy in Charlotte, N.C., and a rising prospect in the 2028 class with interest from schools like Davidson. Greene’s other kids are Dallas, a 6-foot-6, 317-pound football player; Dylan, a 6-foot-1 freshman; and Skyler, a 6-foot freshman who has found her niche in flag football.
“They get to watch me play and I get to watch them,’’ Greene said.
At 38, Greene doesn’t know how much longer that balance will last. For now, though, the Big3 has given him extra years in the game he never wanted to leave behind.
“A wise man once told me, ride util the wheels fall off,’’ Greene said. “As long as I can go out there and compete at a high level, I’m going to keep going.
I’m still in good shape, so I’m not going to put a timeframe on it. I’m just happy to still be playing.’’
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