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Former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens wants to make a direct appeal to BIG3 co-founder Ice Cube to let him join the three-on-three basketball league.

On Saturday, TMZ Sports passed along comments from Owens, a frequent standout at the celebrity game during NBA All-Star weekend, about trying to land in BIG3.

"I tried to get into that league," he said. "I gotta get Ice Cube's number to get my name in the hat to get on one of those teams."

At his peak, the 6'3'' wideout was one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL. He finished his 15-year football career with 1,078 catches for 15,934 yards and 153 touchdowns across 219 games with the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.

Now 43 and seven years removed from his last NFL action, Owens made a surprising statement about his love for basketball during an interview with Josh Peter of USA Today last month.

"I'm a basketball fan at heart," Owens said. "My passion isn't football, but a lot of people don't know that."

He added: "If I had to choose between football and basketball, I'm taking that roundball all day. I probably would have had a longer career in basketball than I did in football. People don't know that, but yes."

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Owens' interest should be intriguing for BIG3. His arrival would bring added attention to the league, which is set to contest its fourth week of play Sunday in Philadelphia, but his actual basketball talent wouldn't make it feel like a desperation move.

Getting a chance to compete against the likes of Allen Iverson and Chauncey Billups would at least give T.O. a sense of what live would have been like if he picked basketball over football a couple decades ago.