What is the origin of 3x3 basketball at the Olympics?
3x3 basketball (pronounced “three-three”) was born spontaneously on outdoor courts, called playgrounds.
An urban sport which was structured around fifteen years ago.
The Youth Olympic Games (reserved for 14-18 year olds) hosted 3x3 basketball during their first edition in 2010, thus serving as a laboratory.
The first World Cup, organized by FIBA, took place in 2012 in Athens (Greece).
To discover
Paris 2024: the map of Olympic sites
On June 9, 2017, the IOC announced that 3x3 basketball would enter the Olympic Games for the first time in Tokyo.
The Japanese public thus attended the men's and women's events in 2021. The discipline will once again be present at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and those in Los Angeles in 2028.
Who are the best basketball players and countries in 3x3?
As in 5x5 basketball, the
United States
is the reference nation.
But their domination is much less clear.
Out of 8 men's World Cups since 2012, “Team USA” has only won one (2019).
Serbia
has won seven, including the last two
.
At the Tokyo Olympics, the Americans didn't even qualify, and
Latvia
beat
Russia
in the final.
Among the men, Serbia is the big favorite, with China
,
Lithuania
,
the
Netherlands
, the United States, and even
France
, 6th nation in the world but which must go through a TQO for the Paris Games, in ambush.
The American Jimmer Fredette (left), former NBA player, against the Serbian Strahinja Stojacic, world No.1 in the FIBA rankings.
GEPA pictures/ Edgar Eisner / Panoramic
Among the women, it was “Team USA” which won gold in Tokyo, where France was ranked 4th.
The Bleues of Laëtitia Guapo, 15th player in the world, won the 2022 World Cup and lost in the final to the United States last year.
We will also have to count on China, the first nation in the FIBA ranking, and be wary of Spain and Canada.
What are the rules of 3x3 basketball?
3x3 basketball differs greatly from 5x5 basketball.
A match lasts 10 minutes, not 40 minutes divided into 4 quarters.
The possession time is reduced from 24 to 12 seconds, and “ playing time
” is prohibited
, as this is considered a “
violation
”.
Suffice to say that 3x3 is extremely intense compared to 5x5.
It is played on a classic half-court (15 m wide and 11 m long), on a single basket.
Teams are made up of 4 athletes, including a substitute.
When team A scores, team B immediately takes the throw-in under the basket.
Except in the case of an offensive rebound, you must always take the ball out behind the 3-point line before being allowed to score.
Moreover, we are talking about a 2-point line: baskets that are usually worth 2 pts are only worth one, and those scored from far away are worth 2. A free throw is always worth one point.
The first team to score 21 pts wins the match.
In the event of a tie at the end of regulation time, sudden death occurs: the first team to score 2 pts wins.
Finally, the ball is size 6, and not size 7 as in 5x5.
3x3 basketball vocabulary
Pick & roll:
basic strategy where the ball carrier uses the screen placed by a teammate on his defender.
The screen setter then “rolls” towards the circle.
Isolation:
strategy where a player is “isolated” against his defender, to challenge him one-on-one.
Rebound:
“Rebounding” means catching the ball after a missed shot.
We're talking about a defensive rebound on an opponent's shot, or an offensive rebound on a team shot.
Pivot Rudy Gobert is the Blues' flagship rebounder.
Dunk:
sometimes called “smash” in France, the action of throwing the ball with force into the basket, sometimes while hanging on to it.
Alley-oop:
we speak of an alley-oop when a player successfully dunks directly on a lobbed pass from a teammate.
Free throw:
occurs after a foul on a shot.
The player comes to a line 4.6 m from the basket and shoots unopposed.
Floater:
Tony Parker's favorite gesture which made him known, it involves shooting in a bell shape with one hand, often to avoid the opposing counter.
Very popular nowadays.
Step-back:
literally “step back”, a technique used just before a shot to move away from your defender and create space.
Key dates to remember for the Olympics
May 16-19: Men's TQO between 15 nations including France, only three will qualify for the Olympics
July 30: Men's and women's group stages begin
August 3: Women's quarter-finals
August 4: Men's quarter-finals
August 5: women's and men's semi-finals and final