There is a fine line between competition and chaos, and Dwight Howard’s first step into the BIG3 may have stomped straight across, erupting a major controversy online. At 6-foot-10 with a Hall of Fame career, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, five All-NBA First team nods, an Olympic gold medal, and that unforgettable title run with the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2020, Howard didn’t just join Ice Cube’s league this summer; he detonated into it.

However, as the BIG3’s 2025 season tipped off in Chicago, it wasn’t Howard’s accolades or his long-awaited debut with the LA Riot that went viral, but a full-blown courtside fight instead. The controversy erupted during the high-intensity 3-on-3 tournament’s season opener at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, after Miami 305’s Lance Stephenson appeared to place his elbow on Howard’s chest and raised a clenched fist, which his opponent pushed away. Immediately after, the Miami player grabbed the former Lakers player, with the latter putting him in a headlock. The altercation ultimately spilled on the floor, and into the media tables behind the basket. As fans jumped out of their seats and security rushed in, both players were eventually ejected.

Senior NBA insider Chris Haynes later reported that the league just issued warnings to the two players, instead of a suspension. They were reportedly “given leniency due to being rookies getting accustomed to physicality of the league,” as per the journalist. And Ice Cube’s reaction? Well, let’s just say his moniker was somewhat of an apt representation of his personality. Making an appearance on The Breakfast Club alongside Howard earlier this week, the rapper began, “Dwight gotta protect himself out there. They was trying to put a little intimidation down but Dwight wasn’t having it,” before making a sudden WNBA shout-out to rest his case.

“I mean, I love trash-talking, you know. I knew it was going to get chippy when they started kind of touching each other, you know. I don’t like that part…It happens. Look, later on that day, it happened in the WNBA with two white girls. So, it happens,” Cube said referencing the Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunnigham debacle vs Connecticut Sun last week.

As for Dwight Howard, he couldn’t have been more apologetic about the whole ordeal. During the same conversation, the 39-year-old first talked about the fight, revealing, “He didn’t say anything. He just started putting his hands up like he was going to start throwing punches. So, I’m like, ‘Bro, you did it once, you did it twice. What’s going on?’ It was just too much. Just too much, man. We out there hooping. I just felt bad after soon as I grabbed him, I’m like, ‘Man, damn. I’m on TV’.”

The player then directed his attention towards Ice Cube, “I’m with Cube, man. I don’t want to make him look bad cuz we just got the deal with CBS and everybody. So, I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t want this to look like what everybody say. Two [ __ ] always fighting on TV’. So, I called Cube and let him know, ‘Man, I really apologize for that’.” Howard took full responsibility for his action and then said, “You know, we got to be better than that. I got to be better than that.”

But what was Ice Cube referring to, exactly?

From Fever to Firestorm: Caitlin Clark’s Collision Draws parallels with Dwight Howard incident

IceCube’s comments weren’t accidental. The WNBA controversy he mentioned was Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham yanking Jacy Sheldon by the head during a late-game altercation vs the Connecticut Sun, leading to multiple ejections, technicals, and fines. On the other hand, Caitlin Clark, who is arguably the most spotlighted player in WNBA history so far, was also caught in a separate scuffle earlier that night after being poked in the eye by Sheldon, before being shoved to the ground by Marina Mabrey.

“Passion is there, guys want to win,” Cube said of the incident. “It just went a little overboard.”

Dwight Howard, for his part, seems to have taken the lesson seriously, and perhaps we will not see the Hall of Famer in any brawl situations in the future, especially on the court. But subsequently, Howard made it clear that his focus is on his training, as he aims to emerge victorious in the renowned 3v3 tournament. But, there was also a silver lining for the league.

The incident between Howard and Stephen drew a lot of eyes from across the Hoops community, putting the league in the spotlight. Wouldn’t you agree?