3 x 3 basketball to be played in the Olympics

[Billy Dat]

3 x 3 hoops, which is essentially the official form of half court hoops, is now an Olympic sport.

https://www.usab.com/mens/3x3.aspx

It's very cool and I wonder if becoming an Olympic sport will draw more of our marquee players to this exciting format

The game is played on a half court, a size 6 ball is used for all competitions and teams are made up of three or four players (three on the court, one substitute).
-There is a 10-minute clock, which is stopped for dead balls and free throws.
-The first team to 21 points, or the team ahead at the end of 10 minutes, is the winner.
-There is a 12 second shot clock
-A field goal inside the arc is worth one point, a field goal outside the arc is worth two points and a free throw is worth one point.
-After six team fouls, an additional free throw is awarded. At the 10th team foul and beyond, the opposing team is awarded two free throws and gets the ball back.
-If there is a tie, the first team to score two points in overtime wins the game.
-After a made field goal, the opposing team must dribble or pass the ball beyond the arc before attempting to score.
-For a missed field goal, if the offensive team gets the rebound it may continue to try to score without returning the ball to beyond the arc. If the defensive team gets the rebound or gets
a steal, it must get the ball beyond the arc before attempting to score.
-Substitutions can be done at anytime when the ball is dead, prior to the check-ball. One teammate must leave the court prior to his/her teammate entering the court.
-Like tennis, no on court coaching allowed

Here's USA vs Serbia during last year's World Cup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD9M4XiaqLM

[JasonEvans]

This is going to be AWESOME!! (https://www.olympic.org/news/basketball-3x3-ready-to-rock-tokyo-2020-olympic-games) The Olympic Committee says there will be an 8-team 3-on-3 tournament in the 2020 Olympics.


Each match lasts a maximum of 10 minutes, with a 12-second shot clock. It is played on half a court, with one hoop. There is no halftime, and no quarters or no time-outs. And it is typically accompanied by non-stop music, DJs and break-dancers. Basketball 3x3 is set to make quite an entrance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

And, in case you think (https://sports.yahoo.com/3-3-basketball-olympics-five-questions-answered-154711839.html) the US will win easily...

The U.S. will totally dominate, right?

Maybe. But keep in mind that the rest of the world has been playing this style of ball for years now — there’s an entire 3-on-3 worldwide tour that culminates this fall in Beijing. Overconfidence about America’s basketball abilities versus the rest of the world has gotten Team USA in trouble before.

Come on. We roll out Russell Westbrook, James Harden, KD and …

Theoretically, yeah, but those cats will likely either be taking some time off or playing for Team USA. That leaves the door open for recent retirees, undrafted college greats, and playground icons to scrap for spots on the team. (Each team has four players, three starters and one substitute, meaning everybody gets plenty of PT.)

-Jason "I can't wait!!" Evans

[Billy Dat]

The fact that we both started that thread at the same time is BIZARRE

[BD80]

This is going to be AWESOME!! (https://www.olympic.org/news/basketball-3x3-ready-to-rock-tokyo-2020-olympic-games) The Olympic Committee says there will be an 8-team 3-on-3 tournament in the 2020 Olympics.



And, in case you think (https://sports.yahoo.com/3-3-basketball-olympics-five-questions-answered-154711839.html) the US will win easily...


-Jason "I can't wait!!" Evans

Coach K would use a 3 1/2 man bench.

Would there be a use for a "stretch 2?"

[CrazyNotCrazie]

This is going to be AWESOME!! (https://www.olympic.org/news/basketball-3x3-ready-to-rock-tokyo-2020-olympic-games) The Olympic Committee says there will be an 8-team 3-on-3 tournament in the 2020 Olympics.



And, in case you think (https://sports.yahoo.com/3-3-basketball-olympics-five-questions-answered-154711839.html) the US will win easily...


-Jason "I can't wait!!" Evans

Earlier this year a league called Big3 - www.big3.com - was launched, possibly with this in mind, though the rules are somewhat different. There are some very impressive former players involved as players and/or coaches - Iverson, Dr. J, Gervin, Drexler, Gary Payton, and our very own Corey Maggette. It looks like it was founded by Roger Mason Jr (of UVA) and Ice Cube, with Amy Trask, formerly CEO of the Raiders, as CEO.

[ncexnyc]

So do players call their own fouls? :)

[Troublemaker]

Coach K would use a 3 1/2 man bench.

Would there be a use for a "stretch 2?"

A 3.5 man rotation would be okay if K would just use a 1-2 zone more often. So stubborn.

[NSDukeFan]

A 3.5 man rotation would be okay if K would just use a 1-2 zone more often. So stubborn.

Would Pitino and/or Beilein use a 1-1-1 half court zone press?

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Phil Jackson would like it as they are theoretically always playing a triangle offense

[kAzE]

Jabari Parker, Kyrie Irving, Jahlil Okafor

I'd watch it.

[Richard Berg]

Apparently it's not makeit-takeit. So turnovers/DRs aren't a huge deal like in playground 3x3.

Given that rule, I would draft Curry #1, or maybe Harden depending on refs. The scoring rules are equivalent to having a 4pt line in the NBA, or having FTs count 2x in the bonus.

[Troublemaker]

Would Pitino and/or Beilein use a 1-1-1 half court zone press?

They would, and Tony Bennett uses his famed Crowd Line defense.

[yancem]

Sounds like a fun game to watch but I'm not sure that adding more sports is what the Olympics needs to do. Pretty soon the number of participating athletes and coaches are going to out number the number of attendees. The costs of holding 18,621 different events is going to make hosting the games to costly to host. Ok, I'm off my soap box. Sign up Irving, Ingram and MP2. I would put Parker instead of Ingram if he was currently healthy although Ingram does offer more on the defensive end (is end the correct word in half court?).

[kAzE]

My real dream team would probably be Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, and Curry, with Kyrie off the bench. LeBron will be 35 in 2020.

But if this is like beach volleyball, and Team USA can qualify multiple teams, it will get REALLY interesting. I'm definitely going to watch the entire tournament.

Also, could you imagine a KD/Russ/Harden reunion tour? This could be epic.

[sbroc012]

Here's USA vs Serbia during last year's World Cup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD9M4XiaqLM

Yea, pretty sure about any medium level NBA squad would wax these guys. The skill level there is not NBA caliber at all or close to it. It does look like a fast paced and physical game with a lot of isolation 1 on 1 so a group of like Irving, Harden, and Durant would destroy teams.

[miramar]

The CBC has really given this some thought:

United States

Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard.

Despite his unique skills, LeBron James doesn't hit threes well enough to make this team. James Harden and Russell Westbrook are good scorers, but also too ball-dominant for a team that already has Curry and Durant. Thus, Leonard gets on — he's the best perimeter defender in the NBA, he hits 39 per cent of his long-distance shots, and he's comfortable playing off the ball. The U.S. talent pool is so deep that the 10th-best American team is probably still the gold-medal favourite in this tournament.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/nba/tokyo-2020-three-on-three-basketball-1.4151197

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

The real shame of this is it will be ruined by the .6 and done players.

[flyingdutchdevil]

The CBC has really given this some thought:

United States

Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard.

Despite his unique skills, LeBron James doesn't hit threes well enough to make this team. James Harden and Russell Westbrook are good scorers, but also too ball-dominant for a team that already has Curry and Durant. Thus, Leonard gets on — he's the best perimeter defender in the NBA, he hits 39 per cent of his long-distance shots, and he's comfortable playing off the ball. The U.S. talent pool is so deep that the 10th-best American team is probably still the gold-medal favourite in this tournament.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/nba/tokyo-2020-three-on-three-basketball-1.4151197

Yeah- I think this is a ridiculous way to give the US another gold medal. This made-up sport in an Olympic sport but cricket isn't? Congrats, Olympic committee - taking another step to look as inept as Fifa.

[Truth&Justise]

FIBA has hosted three 3x3 world cups (2012, 2014, and 2016), and the sport has been around much longer than that. Zero NBA players have participated. Why are we assuming NBA guys will play in 2020?

[kAzE]

Yeah- I think this is a ridiculous way to give the US another gold medal. This made-up sport in an Olympic sport but cricket isn't? Congrats, Olympic committee - taking another step to look as inept as Fifa.

It's definitely not LESS ridiculous than 32 swimming events (16 for both men and women) in the Olympics, or the fact that there are 4 different volleyball events compared to 2 for basketball/soccer, which are immeasurably more popular sports around the world.

More basketball (especially during the summer) is A-OK by me.

[kAzE]

FIBA has hosted three 3x3 world cups (2012, 2014, and 2016), and the sport has been around much longer than that. Zero NBA players have participated. Why are we assuming NBA guys will play in 2020?

Because NBA players care about Olympic gold medals, and don't give a crap about FIBA. Just compare every FIBA team USA vs every Olympic Team USA. This Olympics tournament is going to get global TV coverage. What channel was broadcasting the 2012 3x3 FIBA world cup?

[Olympic Fan]

I'll be interested to see how the team is chosen.

Some posters in this thread are projecting guys like Curry, Durant, Leonard and Kyrie or LeBron.

That would be great in a vacuum, but aren't most of theses guys going to be on Team USA?

Do we take the top 12 on Team USA and players 13-16 on our 3-man team? Or is there a special skill-set that is required for the 3-man game? Or is the 3-man game so different that we need veterans of that game and not NBA players used to the 5-on-5 game?

Like I say, it will be interesting to see it play out.

[JasonEvans]

Sounds like a fun game to watch but I'm not sure that adding more sports is what the Olympics needs to do. Pretty soon the number of participating athletes and coaches are going to out number the number of attendees. The costs of holding 18,621 different events is going to make hosting the games to costly to host. Ok, I'm off my soap box.

Apparently, the IOC heard you when you were on your soap box. They have reduced the total numbers of athletes at the game by 285, most of the losses coming in Track and Field. I think they are going to make it a little bit harder for a nation to qualify athletes in some sports or something like that.

[kAzE]

I'll be interested to see how the team is chosen.

Some posters in this thread are projecting guys like Curry, Durant, Leonard and Kyrie or LeBron.

That would be great in a vacuum, but aren't most of theses guys going to be on Team USA?

Do we take the top 12 on Team USA and players 13-16 on our 3-man team? Or is there a special skill-set that is required for the 3-man game? Or is the 3-man game so different that we need veterans of that game and not NBA players used to the 5-on-5 game?

Like I say, it will be interesting to see it play out.

Why would we be limited to 1 team? There should be some sort of qualifying round, in which several teams would compete for the opportunity to be one of the 8 teams in the final tournament. If more than 1 team from a country is allowed, and it's based purely on merit I imagine USA would have at LEAST 2 teams in the field of 8, and probably more like 4. Outside the US, France and Canada might have good teams for this event if their best guys participate.

Who wants to watch NBA players dominating non-NBA players? Or even worse, a full tournament of amateurs? Everyone wants to see the best play against the best.

Also, I wonder if players would be able to pull double duty for the 5 on 5 tournament and the 3 on 3 tournament. It would depend on the schedule, but since the 5 on 5 games are shorter than NBA games, and these 3 on 3 games are really short and you even get a sub, I don't see fatigue being a huge problem. NBA players play WAY more on a regular basis during the season than they would even if they did both events.

[Billy Dat]

The debate over core and non-core Olympic sports and which non-core sports get added/subtracted each Olympics is pretty interesting to follow.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-weird-history-of-olympic-sports-just-got-weirder/

I was pretty amazed that wrestling was going to be booted from the core list but there was a pretty big backlash and it is staying.

How soon until E-Sports are added? The influence of the X-Games on the Winter Olympics has been huge.

[Truth&Justise]

Because NBA players care about Olympic gold medals, and don't give a crap about FIBA. Just compare every FIBA team USA vs every Olympic Team USA. This Olympics tournament is going to get global TV coverage. What channel was broadcasting the 2012 3x3 FIBA world cup?

I agree that interest will be higher, but there's still a lot of hurdles to clear: NBA has to give permission, USA Basketball has to decide that it wants to pursue NBA players (instead of guys who have experience playing 3x3, including whoever helps us qualify for the Olympics), and then there's the issue of asking guys to play 3x3 when that would be an admission that they didn't make the cut for the main basketball squad. So there's still two big questions to answer for this tournament:

1) Will NBA players be eligible?

2) Will there be multiple entries allowed from the same country?


Or is there a special skill-set that is required for the 3-man game? Or is the 3-man game so different that we need veterans of that game and not NBA players used to the 5-on-5 game?

Excellent questions. Most of the skills look the same, and my guess is it would simply be a matter of practicing and tune-up games to get a sense for the rhythm. But other teams might have experience playing under this set of rules, and this this is obviously a place where USA hubris could get in the way of winning games.

[JasonEvans]

Here is the US team for the upcoming FIBA 3-on-3 tournament.
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/petoskeynews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/01/c01cd33d-9956-5b57-bf7c-bb46e8e4834b/59395f9fa6eca.image.jpg

The team members are:

Damon Huffman, who played his college basketball at Brown and a college called Moore that I have never heard of.
Daniel Mavaraides, who played at Princeton
Zahir Carrington, who played for Lehigh
and Craig Moore, who is by far the most accomplished player on the team having averaged about 14 ppg while hitting 40% of his threes for Northwestern a decade ago

Ummmmm... if four nobodies who didn't even play mid-major NCAA basketball represent the US in the Olympics and they fail to win the Gold Medal, there is going to be some serious pushback on USA Basketball.

This could be a major TV ratings event if you allowed NBA players to participate. In my imaginary world, there would be a 10 team field. You would have 2 pools with a 4-game round-robin. The bottom team in each pool is eliminated and the rest play an 8-team tournament to determine the winner.

USA 1 (Warriors - Curry, Durant, Thompson, and Green) They would probably win as they would already have teamwork on their side
USA 2 (Harden, Westbrook, Kwahi, and either Davis or Butler) Tempted to take Harden off and just put Butler on the team. The D these guys would play (minus Harden) would be scary.
Canada (Wiggins, Murray, Cory Joseph, and Olynyk) A medal contender, but probably the 4th or 5th best team
Spain (Gasol brothers, Ibaka, and Rubio) Too big, not enough outside shooting
Germany (Dirk, Denis Schroder, Paul Zipser, and... uhhhhh... I dunno) Might surprise you, but probably the 6th-8th best team
Australia (Ben Simmons, Paddy Mills, Dante Exum, Thon Maker) This could be a real sleeper. Could sub Delavadova for Maker to give you more outside shooting
Dominican Republic (Towns, Al Horford, Charlie Villaneuva, and we need a guard!) Can Charlie still play?
France (Parker, Fornier, Gobert, and one more) Parker is likely over the hill by 2020
Adriatic team [Italy, Greece, Turkey] (Greek Freak, Marco Belinelli, Danilo Gallinari, and Ersan İlyasova) This team could win this thing!! Major medal contender.
And I am sure China would want to field a team, even though they would get their butts kicked.

-Jason "Make this happen, FIBA and NBA! " Evans

[mattman91]

Here is the US team for the upcoming FIBA 3-on-3 tournament.
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/petoskeynews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/01/c01cd33d-9956-5b57-bf7c-bb46e8e4834b/59395f9fa6eca.image.jpg

The team members are:

Damon Huffman, who played his college basketball at Brown and a college called Moore that I have never heard of.
Daniel Mavaraides, who played at Princeton
Zahir Carrington, who played for Lehigh
and Craig Moore, who is by far the most accomplished player on the team having averaged about 14 ppg while hitting 40% of his threes for Northwestern a decade ago

Ummmmm... if four nobodies who didn't even play mid-major NCAA basketball represent the US in the Olympics and they fail to win the Gold Medal, there is going to be some serious pushback on USA Basketball.

This could be a major TV ratings event if you allowed NBA players to participate. In my imaginary world, there would be a 10 team field. You would have 2 pools with a 4-game round-robin. The bottom team in each pool is eliminated and the rest play an 8-team tournament to determine the winner.

USA 1 (Warriors - Curry, Durant, Thompson, and Green) They would probably win as they would already have teamwork on their side
USA 2 (Harden, Westbrook, Kwahi, and either Davis or Butler) Tempted to take Harden off and just put Butler on the team. The D these guys would play (minus Harden) would be scary.
Canada (Wiggins, Murray, Cory Joseph, and Olynyk) A medal contender, but probably the 4th or 5th best team
Spain (Gasol brothers, Ibaka, and Rubio) Too big, not enough outside shooting
Germany (Dirk, Denis Schroder, Paul Zipser, and... uhhhhh... I dunno) Might surprise you, but probably the 6th-8th best team
Australia (Ben Simmons, Paddy Mills, Dante Exum, Thon Maker) This could be a real sleeper. Could sub Delavadova for Maker to give you more outside shooting
Dominican Republic (Towns, Al Horford, Charlie Villaneuva, and we need a guard!) Can Charlie still play?
France (Parker, Fornier, Gobert, and one more) Parker is likely over the hill by 2020
Adriatic team [Italy, Greece, Turkey] (Greek Freak, Marco Belinelli, Danilo Gallinari, and Ersan İlyasova) This team could win this thing!! Major medal contender.
And I am sure China would want to field a team, even though they would get their butts kicked.

-Jason "Make this happen, FIBA and NBA! " Evans

May not be the most talented, but I bet they blow the competition out of the water when it comes to IQ.

[House P]

Here is the US team for the upcoming FIBA 3-on-3 tournament.
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/petoskeynews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/01/c01cd33d-9956-5b57-bf7c-bb46e8e4834b/59395f9fa6eca.image.jpg

The team members are:
Damon Huffman, who played his college basketball at Brown and a college called Moore that I have never heard of.
Daniel Mavaraides, who played at Princeton
Zahir Carrington, who played for Lehigh
and Craig Moore, who is by far the most accomplished player on the team having averaged about 14 ppg while hitting 40% of his threes for Northwestern a decade ag
o

Ummmmm... if four nobodies who didn't even play mid-major NCAA basketball represent the US in the Olympics and they fail to win the Gold Medal, there is going to be some serious pushback on USA Basketball.


What do you mean "nobodies"? Zahir Carrington is perhaps the greatest player to ever wear jersey #126!!! A quick Google search reveals that someone by the name of Zahir Carrington is currently a "medical device sales representative at Olympus". Olympus is almost the same as Olympics, so I don't see how you could possibly leave him off the 2020 team.

Seriously, it is somewhat telling that only one of the guys on the US Team is taller than 6'4". I assume that speaks to the relative importance of three point shooting.

[JasonEvans]

May not be the most talented, but I bet they blow the competition out of the water when it comes to IQ.

Basketball testing time!!
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/ugatest1.gif http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/ugatest2.gifhttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/ugatest3.gif

[Billy Dat]

Gonzaga's Zach Collins, the #11 pick in the DBR Mock Draft, played in the U18 3x3 Worlds a few summers ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt_hp9a0lC8

[Richard Berg]

I'll be interested to see how the team is chosen.

Some posters in this thread are projecting guys like Curry, Durant, Leonard and Kyrie or LeBron.

That would be great in a vacuum, but aren't most of theses guys going to be on Team USA?

Do we take the top 12 on Team USA and players 13-16 on our 3-man team? Or is there a special skill-set that is required for the 3-man game? Or is the 3-man game so different that we need veterans of that game and not NBA players used to the 5-on-5 game?

Like I say, it will be interesting to see it play out.
I don't see why the A-listers can't play both events. It's not like we make Michael Phelps choose between freestyle and backstroke.

[NSDukeFan]

Why would we be limited to 1 team? There should be some sort of qualifying round, in which several teams would compete for the opportunity to be one of the 8 teams in the final tournament. If more than 1 team from a country is allowed, and it's based purely on merit I imagine USA would have at LEAST 2 teams in the field of 8, and probably more like 4. Outside the US, France and Canada might have good teams for this event if their best guys participate.

Who wants to watch NBA players dominating non-NBA players? Or even worse, a full tournament of amateurs? Everyone wants to see the best play against the best.

Also, I wonder if players would be able to pull double duty for the 5 on 5 tournament and the 3 on 3 tournament. It would depend on the schedule, but since the 5 on 5 games are shorter than NBA games, and these 3 on 3 games are really short and you even get a sub, I don't see fatigue being a huge problem. NBA players play WAY more on a regular basis during the season than they would even if they did both events.
If players played both 5 on 5 and 3 on 3 would the bigger worry be tired legs or the emotional fatigue?

[sagegrouse]

Yeah- I think this is a ridiculous way to give the US another gold medal. This made-up sport in an Olympic sport but cricket isn't? Congrats, Olympic committee - taking another step to look as inept as Fifa.

The Olympics games are only two-and-a-half weeks? Is that even long enough for one cricket match, let alone a whole tournament?

[JNort]

I agree that interest will be higher, but there's still a lot of hurdles to clear: NBA has to give permission, USA Basketball has to decide that it wants to pursue NBA players (instead of guys who have experience playing 3x3, including whoever helps us qualify for the Olympics), and then there's the issue of asking guys to play 3x3 when that would be an admission that they didn't make the cut for the main basketball squad. So there's still two big questions to answer for this tournament:

1) Will NBA players be eligible?

2) Will there be multiple entries allowed from the same country?



Excellent questions. Most of the skills look the same, and my guess is it would simply be a matter of practicing and tune-up games to get a sense for the rhythm. But other teams might have experience playing under this set of rules, and this this is obviously a place where USA hubris could get in the way of winning games.

In 3 on 3 basketball it's all about Iso play and in the case of shots being counted as 1s and 2s then the 3-pt shot becomes even more valuable.

So offensively you look at guys who can Iso and shoot 3s:


Curry
Kyrie
Harden
Kemba
Isaiah
Those are the top guards that come to mind real quick.

[JNort]

Why would we be limited to 1 team? There should be some sort of qualifying round, in which several teams would compete for the opportunity to be one of the 8 teams in the final tournament. If more than 1 team from a country is allowed, and it's based purely on merit I imagine USA would have at LEAST 2 teams in the field of 8, and probably more like 4. Outside the US, France and Canada might have good teams for this event if their best guys participate.

Who wants to watch NBA players dominating non-NBA players? Or even worse, a full tournament of amateurs? Everyone wants to see the best play against the best.

Also, I wonder if players would be able to pull double duty for the 5 on 5 tournament and the 3 on 3 tournament. It would depend on the schedule, but since the 5 on 5 games are shorter than NBA games, and these 3 on 3 games are really short and you even get a sub, I don't see fatigue being a huge problem. NBA players play WAY more on a regular basis during the season than they would even if they did both events.

Nah in the Olympics I want the USA to dominate, hate the close games. Heck even in our regular sports I want my team to win every game in a blowout. Only time I like close games is when watching two teams i don't care about at all.

[BD80]

Can colleges create a 3x3 basketball team and give out scholarships? Undoubtedly they would not be allowed to play 5x5 basketball while on 3x3 scholarship, but they could practice with the 5x5 team for a year or 2 while on 3x3 scholarship, and then switch to 5x5.

[hallcity]

Can colleges create a 3x3 basketball team and give out scholarships? Undoubtedly they would not be allowed to play 5x5 basketball while on 3x3 scholarship, but they could practice with the 5x5 team for a year or 2 while on 3x3 scholarship, and then switch to 5x5.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Have the 3X3 teams play during the summer when there's nothing else to televise on the ACC network and I'm Jonesing for some college hoops.

[Neals384]

Basketball testing time!!
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/ugatest1.gif http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/ugatest2.gifhttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/ugatest3.gif


Q10. E. None of the above.

[Neals384]

3 x 3 hoops, which is essentially the official form of half court hoops, is now an Olympic sport.

https://www.usab.com/mens/3x3.aspx

It's very cool and I wonder if becoming an Olympic sport will draw more of our marquee players to this exciting format

The game is played on a half court, a size 6 ball is used for all competitions and teams are made up of three or four players (three on the court, one substitute).
-There is a 10-minute clock, which is stopped for dead balls and free throws.
-The first team to 21 points, or the team ahead at the end of 10 minutes, is the winner.
-There is a 12 second shot clock
-A field goal inside the arc is worth one point, a field goal outside the arc is worth two points and a free throw is worth one point.
-After six team fouls, an additional free throw is awarded. At the 10th team foul and beyond, the opposing team is awarded two free throws and gets the ball back.
-If there is a tie, the first team to score two points in overtime wins the game.
-After a made field goal, the opposing team must dribble or pass the ball beyond the arc before attempting to score.
-For a missed field goal, if the offensive team gets the rebound it may continue to try to score without returning the ball to beyond the arc. If the defensive team gets the rebound or gets
a steal, it must get the ball beyond the arc before attempting to score.
-Substitutions can be done at anytime when the ball is dead, prior to the check-ball. One teammate must leave the court prior to his/her teammate entering the court.
-Like tennis, no on court coaching allowed

Here's USA vs Serbia during last year's World Cup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD9M4XiaqLM


which arc for the 2-pt shot? NCAA, NBA or Olympic?

[weezie]

I'm the party pooper here. I wouldn't watch more than five minutes of 3on3. Sounds cuckoo.

[JasonEvans]

Test post

[Olympic Fan]

Q10. E. None of the above.

You realize that this test is from 2003, when the correct answer was C. 65 (the tourney had a one-game play-in game).

[awhom111]

Can colleges create a 3x3 basketball team and give out scholarships? Undoubtedly they would not be allowed to play 5x5 basketball while on 3x3 scholarship, but they could practice with the 5x5 team for a year or 2 while on 3x3 scholarship, and then switch to 5x5.

Not too many colleges use up all their scholarships (especially on the women's side where it's 15 instead of 13) so they could probably redshirt 5x5 players who were only playing 3x3. I guess it would be like Sand Volleyball being added as a NCAA sport. The main issue would be facilities though, which would probably prevent a lot of schools from adding it even if the NCAA did. Interestingly, USA Basketball invited Pac 12 schools to send women's teams to the national championship to fill up some of the spots and they did so this year. There are men's teams around the world that play pro 3x3 all year around, but not as many Americans. As a result, it is hard to get players who are in the middle of their seasons to play in the current national championship. Presumably this system would change with the Olympic announcement.

[rthomas]

Me, Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry. And any points I may score don't count.

[UrinalCake]

In 3 on 3 basketball it's all about Iso play and in the case of shots being counted as 1s and 2s then the 3-pt shot becomes even more valuable.

I think it will be mostly iso but with a lot of pick and roll mixed in as well. Transition game is obviously nonexistent. And yes, you definitely need three guys capable of hitting the long-range shot since it's worth twice as much.

My best team would be LeBron, Durant and Curry. A little weak from long range but that's three guys who are basically impossible to stop one on one. Curry could run the pick and roll with either guy, and you'd have plenty of defense and rebounding.

Of course, one of my favorite strategies when playing NBA Jam was to go super big and play Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson and just control the paint and grab all the rebounds. So that's an option too.

[BD80]

This is a half-court game. A big guy need not run at all, just stay under the basket. He needs to be quick enough to guard his man, but needn't be a gazelle running up and down the floor.

[BigZ]

Send over Kobe Iverson and Shaq

[Mabdul Doobakus]

This scoring system seems loony. I looked into it, and you get one free throw for a foul on a shot inside the arc, until you get to foul #7, at which point you get 2 shots, and at foul #10 you get two shots and the ball.

Given the rules here:

1. Provided you have a team with 3 guys who are 40% from behind the arc (i.e., plenty of NBA players), you should only shoot behind the arc, unless you have an 80%+ shot from inside the arc...which is basically limited to uncontested dunks and layups. These scoring rules may work in the YMCA, but if you have Steph Curry on your team, even if you shoot 80% from inside the arc, you are harming your team.

2. Fouls are punished heavily and there is basically incentive NOT to contest inside shots at all, especially once you get to that 7th foul. Your best defensive strategy at that point is probably just to give the other team an open dunk every time unless you're way behind because the cost of a foul is enormous.

3. Defensively, you want to heavily contest shots behind the arc, so the entire game is going to basically be played at the arc, with I would imagine offensive sets intended to free up an open 3 point shooter. Early on, you have to guard against open shots at the rim and try to force guys into mid-range 2's. I guess in some ways this is how the NBA game is played today, but turned up to an extreme.

[subzero02]

This scoring system seems loony. I looked into it, and you get one free throw for a foul on a shot inside the arc, until you get to foul #7, at which point you get 2 shots, and at foul #10 you get two shots and the ball.

Given the rules here:

1. Provided you have a team with 3 guys who are 40% from behind the arc (i.e., plenty of NBA players), you should only shoot behind the arc, unless you have an 80%+ shot from inside the arc...which is basically limited to uncontested dunks and layups. These scoring rules may work in the YMCA, but if you have Steph Curry on your team, even if you shoot 80% from inside the arc, you are harming your team.

2. Fouls are punished heavily and there is basically incentive NOT to contest inside shots at all, especially once you get to that 7th foul. Your best defensive strategy at that point is probably just to give the other team an open dunk every time unless you're way behind because the cost of a foul is enormous.

3. Defensively, you want to heavily contest shots behind the arc, so the entire game is going to basically be played at the arc, with I would imagine offensive sets intended to free up an open 3 point shooter. Early on, you have to guard against open shots at the rim and try to force guys into mid-range 2's. I guess in some ways this is how the NBA game is played today, but turned up to an extreme.

I played 3 on 3 basketball about 20 years ago and a very similar scoring system was used. Easy layup opportunities occur off of players falling asleep when teams quickly transition from offense to defense. But I agree with your point, a good numbrr of those open lanes to the basket will be ignored for a chance at an open 3 from the international line.

[Mabdul Doobakus]

I played 3 on 3 basketball about 20 years ago and a very similar scoring system was used. Easy layup opportunities occur off of players falling asleep when teams quickly transition from offense to defense. But I agree with your point, a good numbrr of those open lanes to the basket will be ignored for a chance at an open 3 from the international line.

Yeah, it's different when you're playing with a bunch of guys who are probably lucky to hit 25% of their threes, if that.

[awhom111]

Making up fake 3x3 may be more fun than the actual event as the internet found out this week by joking that the 4 Balls should be a team.

Here are some that I came up with (not all are completely possible):
Duke and Nigeria: Rasheed Sulaimon, Michael Gbinije, Sean Obi, Jahlil Okafor
Basketball Boom Babies (American fathers playing in Australia's Basketball Boom who had children there): Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum, Ben Simmons, Jonah Bolden
Tongan Trident (find this team a guard please): Isaac Fotu, Jabari Parker, Steven Adams, and Moala Tautuaa
Bahamian Rhapsody: Buddy Hield, Eric Gordon, Klay Thompson, DeAndre Ayton
Puerto Rican Dreams (Taj Gibson was apparently unable to prove that he had a Puerto Rican grandparent): Shabazz Napier, Devin Booker, Moe Harkless, Carmelo Anthony
Hoops United (Kyle Anderson's Chinese heritage seems insufficiently confirmed to me and a played nicknamed Slo-Mo seems problematic for this format): Jeremy Lin, Ding Yanyuhang (a name that might be familiar come next NBA season), Joe Alexander (born on Taiwan), Yi Jianlian
Cameroon Eagles: J.P. Tokoto, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Pascal Siakam, Joel Embiid
Filipino Four-ce: Aaron Craft, Jordan Clarkson, Christian Stanhardinger, Andray Blatche
Bay Area Brilliance: Damian Lillard, Tyler Johnson, Jeremy Lin, Aaron Gordon
Sacramento Snipers: Matt Barnes, Ryan Anderson, Marquese Chriss, Festus Ezeli
Freshly Fresno: Quincy Pondexter, Greg Smith, Brook Lopex, Robin Lopez
Roy's Doghouse: Larry Drew II, P.J. Hairston, Travis Wear, David Wear
Escaped from Chapel Hill: Rashad McCants, Rodney Bullock, J.P. Tokoto, Tony Bradley
Gott's Gone Guys: Cat Barber, Lorenzo Brown, Trevor Lacey, C.J. Leslie

Anyone have any creative ideas?

[subzero02]

Making up fake 3x3 may be more fun than the actual event as the internet found out this week by joking that the 4 Balls should be a team.

Here are some that I came up with (not all are completely possible):
Duke and Nigeria: Rasheed Sulaimon, Michael Gbinije, Sean Obi, Jahlil Okafor
Basketball Boom Babies (American fathers playing in Australia's Basketball Boom who had children there): Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum, Ben Simmons, Jonah Bolden
Tongan Trident (find this team a guard please): Isaac Fotu, Jabari Parker, Steven Adams, and Moala Tautuaa
Bahamian Rhapsody: Buddy Hield, Eric Gordon, Klay Thompson, DeAndre Ayton
Puerto Rican Dreams (Taj Gibson was apparently unable to prove that he had a Puerto Rican grandparent): Shabazz Napier, Devin Booker, Moe Harkless, Carmelo Anthony
Hoops United (Kyle Anderson's Chinese heritage seems insufficiently confirmed to me and a played nicknamed Slo-Mo seems problematic for this format): Jeremy Lin, Ding Yanyuhang (a name that might be familiar come next NBA season), Joe Alexander (born on Taiwan), Yi Jianlian
Cameroon Eagles: J.P. Tokoto, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Pascal Siakam, Joel Embiid
Filipino Four-ce: Aaron Craft, Jordan Clarkson, Christian Stanhardinger, Andray Blatche
Bay Area Brilliance: Damian Lillard, Tyler Johnson, Jeremy Lin, Aaron Gordon
Sacramento Snipers: Matt Barnes, Ryan Anderson, Marquese Chriss, Festus Ezeli
Freshly Fresno: Quincy Pondexter, Greg Smith, Brook Lopex, Robin Lopez
Roy's Doghouse: Larry Drew II, P.J. Hairston, Travis Wear, David Wear
Escaped from Chapel Hill: Rashad McCants, Rodney Bullock, J.P. Tokoto, Tony Bradley
Gott's Gone Guys: Cat Barber, Lorenzo Brown, Trevor Lacey, C.J. Leslie

Anyone have any creative ideas?

Stormin' Mormons: Frank Jackson, Jabari Parker, Jimmer Fredette, Mark "the mad dog" Madsen...

[Reddevil]

While it is fun to speculate which NBA players could make up the best 3 on 3 team, I would be willing to bet that there are some serious blacktop players out there that would dominate them 3 on 3. It will be interesting to see how the team(s) are chosen. If it is an open competition, we may end up with teams consisting of players that few of us have heard of before. Of course they would get famous quickly and that would lead to some interesting developments - endorsements, NBA contracts, etc. There is a subset of amazingly talented outdoor basketball players out there that could flourish in this type of competition.

[UrinalCake]

While it is fun to speculate which NBA players could make up the best 3 on 3 team, I would be willing to bet that there are some serious blacktop players out there that would dominate them 3 on 3.

Let's get a team of The Professor, Hot Sauce, and the Main Event and enter them in this thing. I know I'd watch!

[kAzE]

While it is fun to speculate which NBA players could make up the best 3 on 3 team, I would be willing to bet that there are some serious blacktop players out there that would dominate them 3 on 3. It will be interesting to see how the team(s) are chosen. If it is an open competition, we may end up with teams consisting of players that few of us have heard of before. Of course they would get famous quickly and that would lead to some interesting developments - endorsements, NBA contracts, etc. There is a subset of amazingly talented outdoor basketball players out there that could flourish in this type of competition.

No . . . they would not "dominate" the best NBA players. They might win a single game because they know 3 on 3 schemes and have set plays, but the massive gap in talent would cripple any chance they would have to put up a serious fight. It's basketball, not some completely different sport. You put Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson out there against some blacktop guys, and you think they would lose? Not a chance. There might be some talented guys out there who are good enough to play in the NBA, but put them against 2 or 3 former MVPs, and they would get crushed.

[English]

No . . . they would not "dominate" the best NBA players. They might win a single game because they know 3 on 3 schemes and have set plays, but the massive gap in talent would cripple any chance they would have to put up a serious fight. It's basketball, not some completely different sport. You put Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson out there against some blacktop guys, and you think they would lose? Not a chance. There might be some talented guys out there who are good enough to play in the NBA, but put them against 2 or 3 former MVPs, and they would get crushed.

Completely agree--this is the "squash" or "handball" argument...put a professional tennis player on the squash court with a savvy squash player and, despite the enormous talent gap in general racket sports, the squash player would have a major advantage because of strategy and quirks of the game. Same goes for professional football and/or basketball players in Olympic handball.

HOWEVER, as Kaze correctly points out, this isn't a different sport we're discussing. The 3pt line may be different, the size of the basketball might be slightly different, the strategy might differ some. But ultimately, the best NBA guys would still have tremendous advantages in virtually every conceivable facet of the game. Given a few weeks or months to refine team chemistry and strategy, and it's tough to imagine a scenario in which the NBA guys would be outmatched.

[Truth&Justise]

Completely agree--this is the "squash" or "handball" argument...put a professional tennis player on the squash court with a savvy squash player and, despite the enormous talent gap in general racket sports, the squash player would have a major advantage because of strategy and quirks of the game. Same goes for professional football and/or basketball players in Olympic handball.

HOWEVER, as Kaze correctly points out, this isn't a different sport we're discussing. The 3pt line may be different, the size of the basketball might be slightly different, the strategy might differ some. But ultimately, the best NBA guys would still have tremendous advantages in virtually every conceivable facet of the game. Given a few weeks or months to refine team chemistry and strategy, and it's tough to imagine a scenario in which the NBA guys would be outmatched.

This is actually one of the strangest aspects of 3x3--it uses a unique ball:

"The Wilson Labs innovation team and FIBA 3×3 collaborated to construct a new and state-of-the-art game ball that would enhance player performance on the court. The new Official FIBA 3×3 Game Ball is now the same size as an intermediate basketball, also known as a size 6 basketball. However, it weighs as much as an official game basketball, known as a size 7." [Source (http://www.amersports.com/2015/06/wilson-to-provide-the-official-game-ball-for-fiba/)]

Size 6 is the ball used in women's games, and size 7 is the ball used in men's games. So the 3x3 ball is the size of a women's-game basketball, but has the weight of the ball used in the men's game.

[kAzE]

This is actually one of the strangest aspects of 3x3--it uses a unique ball:

"The Wilson Labs innovation team and FIBA 3×3 collaborated to construct a new and state-of-the-art game ball that would enhance player performance on the court. The new Official FIBA 3×3 Game Ball is now the same size as an intermediate basketball, also known as a size 6 basketball. However, it weighs as much as an official game basketball, known as a size 7." [Source (http://www.amersports.com/2015/06/wilson-to-provide-the-official-game-ball-for-fiba/)]

Size 6 is the ball used in women's games, and size 7 is the ball used in men's games. So the 3x3 ball is the size of a women's-game basketball, but has the weight of the ball used in the men's game.

That is unbelievably dumb. Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to use a ball that nobody else uses for any other sport? All that's doing is making the sport less accessible and more niche.

[Mabdul Doobakus]

I would bet a lot of the best shots in this format will come right off of rebounds, both offensive and defensive. That's your best chance to get a wide open 3 point shooter. So, I gotta think rebounding is huge because it's going to lead directly to offense. I mean, in the NBA, how often do you see a great shot come right off an offensive rebound? Happens all the time. Well, now it can happen on any rebound.

So, you want 3 point shooters, but all things being equal, if you can get a 3 point shooter who can also rebound, you're in business. Even more so if they can defend the 3. For the most part, the best players here are going to be the best players in the league, but somebody like DeMar Derozan, who averaged 27 pts in the NBA this year...he can take his midrange game somewhere else. Lebron, Durant, and Steph Curry are all obvious picks, but after that I think I'd go with Kawhi and Paul George.

[UrinalCake]

That is unbelievably dumb. Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to use a ball that nobody else uses for any other sport? All that's doing is making the sport less accessible and more niche.

I mean as long as it looks like a globe and catches fire when you make three shots in a row, I'm cool with it.

[awhom111]

Stormin' Mormons: Frank Jackson, Jabari Parker, Jimmer Fredette, Mark "the mad dog" Madsen...

I forgot a few yesterday that I had already come up with:
A Few Canucks: Kevin Pangos, Kyle Wiltjer, Kelly Olynyk, Robert Sacre
Swiss Neutrals: Thabo Sefolosha, Enes Kanter, Nikola Vucevic, Clint Capela
It's All Greek to Me: Tyler Dorsey, Vladomir "Giankovits" Jankovic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zach Auguste

[sagegrouse]

No . . . they would not "dominate" the best NBA players. They might win a single game because they know 3 on 3 schemes and have set plays, but the massive gap in talent would cripple any chance they would have to put up a serious fight. It's basketball, not some completely different sport. You put Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson out there against some blacktop guys, and you think they would lose? Not a chance. There might be some talented guys out there who are good enough to play in the NBA, but put them against 2 or 3 former MVPs, and they would get crushed.

Moreover, until recent rule changes, the NBA was justly criticized for static play -- "one-on-one" and the "two-man" game. The fans most fervent wish was to see an offense that used all five players.

If the USA fields a team with three of the best 20 basketball players on the planet, it will sweep to victory -- and the games would be fun to watch.

Another question -- who do you get to coach this team?

[flyingdutchdevil]

Moreover, until recent rule changes, the NBA was justly criticized for static play -- "one-on-one" and the "two-man" game. The fans most fervent wish was to see an offense that used all five players.

If the USA fields a team with three of the best 20 basketball players on the planet, it will sweep to victory -- and the games would be fun to watch.

Another question -- who do you get to coach this team?

Does it really matter? I honestly believe anyone on this forum could be the coach and get a gold for 3-on-3. It's not a difficult game and much easier to play as a "team" than 5-on-5.

If possible, the US could probably field the best 15 teams. I suspect that only Canada could give at least one of those 15 US teams a run for their money.

[JasonEvans]

If possible, the US could probably field the best 15 teams. I suspect that only Canada could give at least one of those 15 US teams a run for their money.


If FIBA would allow my Adriatic team, they would have a non-zero chance of winning it all!

Adriatic team [Greece, Italy, Turkey] - Greek Freak, Marco Belinelli, Danilo Gallinari, and Ersan İlyasova

[Acymetric]

That is unbelievably dumb. Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to use a ball that nobody else uses for any other sport? All that's doing is making the sport less accessible and more niche.

Who makes and/or sells basketballs and has advertising dollars? It does make sense in some ways.

[AIRFORCEDUKIE]

Does it really matter? I honestly believe anyone on this forum could be the coach and get a gold for 3-on-3. It's not a difficult game and much easier to play as a "team" than 5-on-5.

If possible, the US could probably field the best 15 teams. I suspect that only Canada could give at least one of those 15 US teams a run for their money.

Coaches arent allowed in 3 on 3 FIBA rules. I think this thread is forgetting something about the reason they are adding 3 on 3 ball to begin with. Its to make the game more accessible to a regular player who isn't making millions in the NBA. I think it could explode just like 2 on 2 beach Volleyball has. According to FIBA 3 on 3 basketball is already the most played sport in the world because literally anyone can play it. I don't think many NBA players will play, as it looks like USA basketball will be holding a qualifying series of some sort. You only need to participate in 2 FIBA sanctioned events in order to qualify to be considered for the 3 on 3 FIBA world cup so the Olympic standards could be similar. I hope they make it awesome and have regional tournaments and qualifying events and then before the Olympics come around you get an invite to the main qualifying tournament by how you are ranked or if you won a regional tournament. With the rule set literally anyone could get lucky and their squad could make an olympic run. Make the whole thing open to any and everyone that would be amazing.

[JasonEvans]

With the rule set literally anyone could get lucky and their squad could make an olympic run. Make the whole thing open to any and everyone that would be amazing.

I hear you and the notion of anyone being able to win is sorta fun in the abstract, but the Olympics are about the folks who are not like everyone else. It is about celebrating athletic excellence. Gold medals are supposed to go to the best of the best on the entire planet at a given discipline.

I expect that the US team will end up being some guys from the 3-on-3 league being started by Ice Cube, meaning they will be former NBAers (the league starts play in 10 days). It is also possible that some younger DLeague players may opt to put together a couple teams to compete in FIFA events in the hope of qualifying for the Olympics. Bottom line, I am betting that the guys who are currently playing 3-on-3 for the US won't have much of a chance as we get closer to the Olympics and some better players move toward this sport for a grasp at Olympic glory.

-Jason "Ice Cube must be thrilled... this Olympic news has given a lot of extra attention to his new league" Evans

[rsvman]

To me this is just dumb. It's not really basketball.

Why not "make it-take it"? And the winning team stays on the court to play the next team? Gold medal goes to the team that stayed on the court the longest??


Oh, here's another great idea! How about Olympic "twenty-one"? Just get Curry on your team. He makes one shot for two points and then just knocks down 19 free throws: GAME OVER. Wait, 21 is an individual game. OK, well, then Curry gets the gold.


Where does the madness end?

[sagegrouse]

To me this is just dumb. It's not really basketball.

Why not "make it-take it"? And the winning team stays on the court to play the next team? Gold medal goes to the team that stayed on the court the longest??


Oh, here's another great idea! How about Olympic "twenty-one"? Just get Curry on your team. He makes one shot for two points and then just knocks down 19 free throws: GAME OVER. Wait, 21 is an individual game. OK, well, then Curry gets the gold.


Where does the madness end?
Why is it "dumb?" It's more basketball in the Olympics and another basketball sport for people to compete and get medals. The rules will evolve over time.

[English]

To me this is just dumb. It's not really basketball.

Why not "make it-take it"? And the winning team stays on the court to play the next team? Gold medal goes to the team that stayed on the court the longest??


Oh, here's another great idea! How about Olympic "twenty-one"? Just get Curry on your team. He makes one shot for two points and then just knocks down 19 free throws: GAME OVER. Wait, 21 is an individual game. OK, well, then Curry gets the gold.


Where does the madness end?

Is this an affront on your sensibilities as a basketball purist or an Olympics purist? Anything that brings more hoops, and more innovation and fun to the Olympics is just fine by this poster. Did you throw a fit when the Winter Olympics added the half-pipe?

[Truth&Justise]

Team USA eliminated in the World Cup quarterfinals by top-ranked Serbia, 17-14.

Serbia is the reigning champs. Interestingly, there have been four 3x3 world cups (2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017) and Team USA has been eliminated by Serbia in all four tournaments.

[rsvman]

Is this an affront on your sensibilities as a basketball purist or an Olympics purist? Both.


Anything that brings more hoops, and more innovation and fun to the Olympics is just fine by this poster. Did you throw a fit when the Winter Olympics added the half-pipe?

No, but I wasn't exactly pleased, and I'm not trying to throw a fit here, either.

Don't get me wrong. When they play, I'll probably watch. It just seems strange and unnecessary to me.

[House P]

Team USA eliminated in the World Cup quarterfinals by top-ranked Serbia, 17-14.

Serbia is the reigning champs. Interestingly, there have been four 3x3 world cups (2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017) and Team USA has been eliminated by Serbia in all four tournaments.

The 2017 FIBA 3x3 World Cup is over and the winner is Serbia.

Second place goes to the basketball powerhouse of ... the Netherlands!

France finished third and Slovenia finished 4th. The US tied for 5th with Ukranie, Russia, and Qatar!

If the roster composition for the Olympics is similar to the composition of the World Cup teams, I suspect a lot of folks on this thread will be disappointed. A full list of all 80 players who participated in the 2017 World Championships can be found here (http://www.fiba.com/3x3worldcup/2017/players).

Sporks to anyone who has heard of any of these players (prior to this thread).

[JasonEvans]

I guess FIBA may make the rules in some onerous way in an effort to keep actual basketball stars out of the Olympics, you can never guess what motivates a corrupt organization like FIBA, but if they do not I expect USA basketball will, at a minimum, field a team that contains some pretty recognizable college stars who couldn't make it in the NBA or some former NBA pros.

[awhom111]

The 2017 FIBA 3x3 World Cup is over and the winner is Serbia.

Second place goes to the basketball powerhouse of ... the Netherlands!

France finished third and Slovenia finished 4th. The US tied for 5th with Ukranie, Russia, and Qatar!

If the roster composition for the Olympics is similar to the composition of the World Cup teams, I suspect a lot of folks on this thread will be disappointed. A full list of all 80 players who participated in the 2017 World Championships can be found here (http://www.fiba.com/3x3worldcup/2017/players).

Sporks to anyone who has heard of any of these players (prior to this thread).

How many of the players do I have to have heard of to qualify?

Tanguy Ngombo was actually drafted a while back, but his rights may or may not exist because nobody, including his family and Thon Maker really has any idea how old he is. The other Qatar players also play for their full national team.

In a global context, Kobe Paras may have been the most famous freshman in the country even though he was a benchwarmer. His father is famous in the Philippines and there have been high hopes for Kobe since he signed with UCLA. Of course, once LaVar Ball found about this, mysterious methods were used to keep Kobe from enrolling. It's actually funny reading some of the accounts of Creighton players being confused about why he had such crazy fans.

Also for the Philippines, Kiefer Ravena shows the major issues with basketball there. It pays better to be an "amateur" in the college system there so players stay as long as possible. The pro league also requires a year in their D League before allowing players to enter the draft, which hurts development further. Then the rookie contract is so restrictive and long that Kiefer opted to be an unpaid practice player for the Mavericks' D League team instead of entering the PBA Draft and being unable to leave later.

Dan Mavraides is from my area and is around the same age. He is clearly the pride of Serra High School, not Tom Brady or Barry Bonds or Lynn Swann for the older folks.

Dusan Bulut and rest of the Serbia team are basically full time 3x3 professionals. The other teams are a mix of 5x5 and 3x3 players.

Since the professional season for most women's leagues is shorter, that competition had quite a few more big names. Qualification and scheduling for this tournament were done before the Olympic announcement. I would expect a lot more changes and organization to this format in the near future. Right now, there are some full time teams while most places use it as offseason cross-training. FIBA has managed to advance 3x3 in a lot of non-traditional basketball countries because outdoor courts are cheaper and it's much easier to organize teams of 4 than teams of 12.

[House P]

How many of the players do I have to have heard of to qualify?

[Interesting tidbits about several 3x3 World Cup players deleted]



I'm impressed with your knowledge. Well deserved sporks headed your way!

I particularly enjoyed the story of Tanguy Nagombo. For anyone want to know more, here is a story (https://minnesota.sbnation.com/minnesota-timberwolves/2011/6/24/2242346/tanguy-ngombo-age-timberwolves-draft-pick) with the great headline "Timberwolves Draft Pick Tanguy Ngombo Lied About His Age, Spelling of Tanguy".

That being said, when the de facto owner of the "2017 International Basketball" thread is the only person to respond to my post, it kinda proves how obscure these players are.

At the very least, I was expecting to see a post from FlyingDutchDevil which said something like

"Of course, I have heard of Sjoern van Vilsteren! His family owns a soused herring stand in Den Bosch. My cousin and I used to ride our bikes over to the herring stand and split the bill after a day speed skating on the frozen canals. As we sat around drinking beers with plunger-like 'lemon smashers' in them, Sjoern's dad was always going on and on about how good his 2-meter-tall kids were at korfball. Never knew he played basketball, though ... Tot ziens."


(There, I managed to write a couple sentences packed full of Dutch cliches without mentioning windmills, wooden shoes, legalized drugs, or prostitution. All intended in good fun. :))

[Bike4Fun]

Coach K on NBA radio this week gave his 3 with no hesitation--Lebron , KD, Leonard

[cato]

Coach K on NBA radio this week gave his 3 with no hesitation--Lebron , KD, Leonard

Yeah. That team might be ok.

[Indoor66]

Yeah. That team might be ok.

Not really. No real point guard.

[Pghdukie]

Calabari would still recruit the 1 and Done.

[JNort]

Not really. No real point guard.

Um... LeBron is the best pg in the NBA. Besides you don't need a pg in 3v3.

[rsvman]

Um... LeBron is the best pg in the NBA. Besides you don't need a pg in 3v3.

Pretty sure Indoor66 was being sarcastic/making an DBR "inside joke." Guessing he didn't expect it to be so inside that a DBR denizen would take it seriously.

[Indoor66]

Pretty sure Indoor66 was being sarcastic/making an DBR "inside joke." Guessing he didn't expect it to be so inside that a DBR denizen would take it seriously.

😀😂😅😍😎

[JNort]

Pretty sure Indoor66 was being sarcastic/making an DBR "inside joke." Guessing he didn't expect it to be so inside that a DBR denizen would take it seriously.

I guess I just get defensive over LeBron easily.

[JasonEvans]

Anyone planning to watch the new Big3 league when it debuts on Fox Sports tonight at 8pm? The first day of games were pretty exciting according to reports... though the biggest name -- Allen Iverson -- barely played and seems to be more "coach" than "player/coach."

[-jk]

Anyone planning to watch the new Big3 league when it debuts on Fox Sports tonight at 8pm? The first day of games were pretty exciting according to reports... though the biggest name -- Allen Iverson -- barely played and seems to be more "coach" than "player/coach."

I didn't think coaching was allowed...

-jk

[BD80]

I didn't think coaching was allowed...

-jk

Which is why AI can be the coach

[Indoor66]

Which is why AI can be the coach

Why do you insist on speaking about practice?

[weezie]

Is anybody watching this absurd mess? Dipped into a few games but it's torture from this couch.

Was disappointed to see Chauncey Billups make an appearance, albeit with a deep three or whatever they're up to with the scoring.

[Billy Dat]

Is anybody watching this absurd mess? Dipped into a few games but it's torture from this couch.

Was disappointed to see Chauncey Billups make an appearance, albeit with a deep three or whatever they're up to with the scoring.

I actually think it's pretty cool. Forget pace and space, this is old school take it to the hole basketball. As a result, there are a lot of fouls being called, but I find it interesting. I also love grey bearded Mahmoud Abdul Rauf looking fit as a fiddle and still able to score in bunches.

[lmb]

I watched about 5 minutes last night and heard them mention Corey Maggette as a coach of one of the teams. I didn't care enough to look into it but thought I would mention it

[House P]

Not sure what thread to put this in, but the inaugural "3x3U National Championship" will be taking place this weekend. The event is organized by InterSport, the company run by the father of Duke walk-on Brennan Besser.

Here is some information from the event's website (http://www.3x3uhoops.com):



The inaugural Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship will pit all-star teams from college basketball's 32 Division I conferences against each other in a 3-day, 3-on-3 basketball tournament that will award a $100K prize pool. All participating players must be senior that have officially exhausted their collegiate eligibility.

Rules
- One basket on a single half court
- Two teams of four players (including one sub per team)
- 12 second shot clock
- One point per basket inside the arc, two points per basket behind the arc
- First team to reach 21 points or best score after ten minutes wins



The the competition will consist of pool play (on Friday and Saturday) and tournament/bracket play (on Sunday). It looks like the final 2 hours of the event will be televised by ESPN2 on Sunday starting at 3:30 PM Eastern. I assume that there will be some way to watch the pool play games online, but I couldn't find anything about this on the event's website.

The roster for the ACC team will be announced sometime today. I have no idea if Grayson is interested in participating, but he would certainly be selected if he is interested. I also suspect that Joel Barry and Theo Pinson would be on the team if they are interested.

Teams from 24 of the 32 conferences have already been announced. Here are the rosters for the major conference teams which have already been announced.



Big East



Trevon Bluiett
Xavier


JP Macura
Xavier


Andrew Rowsey
Marquette


Desi Rodriguez
Seton Hall






SEC



Yante Maten
Georgia


Juwan Parker
Georgia


Frank Booker
USC


Kassius Robertson
Missouri






Big Ten



Vincent Edwards
Purdue


Jae'Sean Tate
Ohio St


Nate Mason
Minnesota


Robert Johnson
Indiana



Anybody want to set up a poll or pick'em contest for this event?

[left_hook_lacey]

Basketball testing time!!
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/ugatest1.gif http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/ugatest2.gifhttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/750x970/documents/ugatest3.gif

How did Jason get a copy of the mid-term exam questions for Quantum Mechanics at UNC?!?!?!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Not sure what thread to put this in, but the inaugural "3x3U National Championship" will be taking place this weekend. The event is organized by InterSport, the company run by the father of Duke walk-on Brennan Besser.

Here is some information from the event's website (http://www.3x3uhoops.com):



The the competition will consist of pool play (on Friday and Saturday) and tournament/bracket play (on Sunday). It looks like the final 2 hours of the event will be televised by ESPN2 on Sunday starting at 3:30 PM Eastern. I assume that there will be some way to watch the pool play games online, but I couldn't find anything about this on the event's website.

The roster for the ACC team will be announced sometime today. I have no idea if Grayson is interested in participating, but he would certainly be selected if he is interested. I also suspect that Joel Barry and Theo Pinson would be on the team if they are interested.

Teams from 24 of the 32 conferences have already been announced. Here are the rosters for the major conference teams which have already been announced.



Big East



Trevon Bluiett
Xavier


JP Macura
Xavier


Andrew Rowsey
Marquette


Desi Rodriguez
Seton Hall






SEC



Yante Maten
Georgia


Juwan Parker
Georgia


Frank Booker
USC


Kassius Robertson
Missouri






Big Ten



Vincent Edwards
Purdue


Jae'Sean Tate
Ohio St


Nate Mason
Minnesota


Robert Johnson
Indiana



Anybody want to set up a poll or pick'em contest for this event?

Wow - Rousey had come a long way in a short time from being the Big Dog on the UNC-Asheville campus.

[gocanes0506]

I wish I had two more hands to give this 4 thumbs down. A loss in this would be more embarrassing than the 2004 Olympics. 5v5 was hard enough for international squads but was more fair because we dont play team ball as well as International squads. Much like the Duke teams of late where we’re hoping to beat teams with talent overcoming a lack of team ball.
Spreading out the court with little chance of help defense? What international squad is going to have enough individual talent to make a 3v3 game competitive? Answer is none. Heck I’d bet a final four of 3v3 would be 2 teams of 8 from the US and 2 teams full of nba retired dudes from the big 3 tournament.

[pfrduke]

Reportedly, Berry, Pinson, and Grayson all were asked to participate but opted out. A team with the three of them and Bonzie would have been formidable.

[JasonEvans]

I wish I had two more hands to give this 4 thumbs down. A loss in this would be more embarrassing than the 2004 Olympics. 5v5 was hard enough for international squads but was more fair because we dont play team ball as well as International squads. Much like the Duke teams of late where we’re hoping to beat teams with talent overcoming a lack of team ball.
Spreading out the court with little chance of help defense? What international squad is going to have enough individual talent to make a 3v3 game competitive? Answer is none. Heck I’d bet a final four of 3v3 would be 2 teams of 8 from the US and 2 teams full of nba retired dudes from the big 3 tournament.

You are assuming top flight basketball players from the US will participate. That does not seem likely. I agree that Harden, Lebron, and Durant or Westbrook, The Brow, and Lillard would trounce any international team. Heck, you could probably eliminate any NBA starters from consideration and still get a US team that would win with ease... but it appears the folks who participate in this event will be drawn from teams who participate in the international 3-on-3 league, which means the US team will likely be made up of big-name stars Dan Mavraides (Princeton), Damon Huffman (Brown), and Craig Moore (Northwestern).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=vnJWWU6R9Xk

[House P]

Reportedly, Berry, Pinson, and Grayson all were asked to participate but opted out. A team with the three of them and Bonzie would have been formidable.

Looks like the ACC team will consist of Gabe DeVoe, Quentin Snider, and Tadric Jackson. It seems that they couldn't even get a 4th Senior from the ACC to participate. The Pac 12 isn't even fielding a team.

Still might watch out a bit of this event out of curiosity, but I would have been waaaay more interested in watching a team with Grayson, Bonzie, and the 2 UNC guys.

[Truth&Justise]

Looks like the ACC team will consist of Gabe DeVoe, Quentin Snider, and Tadric Jackson. It seems that they couldn't even get a 4th Senior from the ACC to participate. The Pac 12 isn't even fielding a team.

Still might watch out a bit of this event out of curiosity, but I would have been waaaay more interested in watching a team with Grayson, Bonzie, and the 2 UNC guys.

So this will just be another tournament without any Pac 12 wins?

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Half court 3 on 3 - I thought that was for these 65 and over leagues.....I mean, you gotta respect those guys....or pick up for young guys when you have only 6 or 7 players available.....

[CameronBornAndBred]

How did Jason get a copy of the mid-term exam questions for Quantum Mechanics at UNC?!?!?!

Questions 5 and 8 are my favorites. Total stumpers!