Iverson won’t coach in BIG3 this season

FILE – Allen Iverson of 3’s Company talks to his team during a time out in the game against Tri-State in week nine of the BIG3 three-on-three basketball league at KeyArena on August 20, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. Stephen Brashear/BIG3/Getty Images/AFP

LOS ANGELES — Allen Iverson will not coach in the BIG3 this season and will be replaced by Michael Cooper with 3′s Company.

Iverson says Wednesday he informed the league he could not take part because of scheduling conflicts, adding in an Instagram post that the league supports him and he would continue to attend games when possible.

Iverson was the biggest star to join Ice Cube’s 3-on-3 league of former NBA players last season and was announced as a player-coach. But the 2001 NBA MVP quickly decided after the opening game he would no longer play and focused only on his coaching duties.

Cooper won five championships as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers and also won titles as a coach in the WNBA and NBA Development League.