3×3 basketball returns to the Summer season Olympics after a profitable Olympic debut for the game in 2021. Eight nations can be competing in 2024, headlined by the USA, who gained gold in Tokyo in 2021, and China, who’re presently ranked because the No. 1 3×3 workforce on the earth in response to FIBA.
The event can be held from July 30 by August 5 and can showcase a number of the finest basketball expertise on the earth within the distinctive 3×3 format. There are just a few notable variations in 3×3 basketball in comparison with the normal 5×5 format that the majority followers are used to, equivalent to baskets being price one or two factors as an alternative of two or three factors and the sport being restricted to 1 hoop in a halfcourt setting. The video games, that are solely 10 minutes lengthy, are fast-paced and emphasize synergy and fast decision-making by the gamers; as a result of 3×3 basketball video games are a lot shorter than conventional 5×5 video games, it’s widespread to see a 3×3 workforce play a number of video games in sooner or later, and the Paris Olympics can be no exception.
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Within the first 5 days of the competitors, every workforce will play each other in a round-robin format, known as the “pool spherical.” Starting on August 3, the event portion begins: the groups can be ranked by their document in pool play, with the No. 1 and No. 2 groups being positioned within the event semifinals and the No. 7 and No. 8 groups being eradicated. Groups Nos. 3-6 will face one another within the “play-in” (quarterfinals) for the precise to advance.
Lastly, on August 5, the 2 semifinal video games will decide which groups will play for a bronze medal and which is able to play for gold. The bronze and gold medal video games can be performed later that day.
The Competing Groups
Eight nations can be competing within the 3×3 basketball event on the Paris Olympics. The groups are seeded in response to their respective spots within the FIBA 3×3 Federation Rating, which is calculated over time primarily based on these nations’ particular person participant rankings from different 3×3 occasions. Typically talking, the extra 3×3 occasions a participant participates in, the extra factors they are going to accumulate.
China (No. 1 seed)
Roster: Mingling Chen, Ji Yuan Wan, Lili Wang, ZhiTing Zhang
China enters the Paris Olympics as probably the most prolific 3×3 workforce on the earth and the one nation exceeding two million rating factors, incomes a visit to Paris by advantage of being FIBA’s top-ranked workforce. Three of China’s 4 gamers (Wan, Wang and Zhang) additionally competed in Tokyo in 2021, the place they gained a bronze medal, so it’s protected to say that they’ve the required expertise as a bunch.
United States (No. 2 seed)
Roster: Rhyne Howard, Dearica Hamby, Cierra Burdick, Hailey Van Lith
America actually made a great first impression by successful the inaugural Olympic 3×3 event in Tokyo, and so they’ll defend their title with an all-new workforce in 2024. Burdick and Van Lith are 3×3 veterans, having led the USA to a 3×3 World Cup championship final yr, and although the last-minute substitution of Hamby for Cameron Brink (torn ACL) has left this particular group with out a lot time to ascertain chemistry, its stage of particular person expertise can be sufficient preserve it aggressive.
France (No. 3 seed)
Roster: Myriam Djekoundade, Laetitia Guapo, Hortense Limouzin, Marie-Eve Paget
Because the host nation for the 2024 Olympics, France routinely qualifies for the 3×3 event, and so they’ll have homecourt benefit in each sport they play. France is coming off a second-place end to the USA within the 2023 3×3 World Cup and can return each one among their gamers from that event (Guapo additionally competed within the 2020 Olympics) so expectations can be excessive for them on their very own soil.
Germany (No. 4 seed)
Roster: Svenja Brunckhorst, Sonja Greinacher, Elisa Mevius, Marie Reichert
Germany was one among three nations to qualify for the Paris Olympics by the use of the 3×3 Qualifying Match held in Might, by which the Germans went an ideal 5-0. Greinacher is without doubt one of the high gamers within the competitors, standing at 6-foot-3 and ranked at No. 5 general by FIBA, and he or she was extremely spectacular within the qualifying event, proving that she will carry a workforce in what’s normally a highly-egalitarian type of basketball.
Canada (No. 5 seed)
Roster: Kacie Bosch, Paige Crozon, Katherine Plouffe, Michelle Plouffe
There’s no duo within the 3×3 basketball scene as spectacular because the Plouffe sisters, and with Crozon additionally within the fold, Canada has the three top-ranked gamers within the event, in response to FIBA. They aren’t invincible, however their efficiency in Might’s Qualifying Match was loads ok to earn them a spot within the Paris Olympics, and it’s going to be troublesome for many different groups in Paris to compete with their dimension.
Spain (No. 6 seed)
Roster: Gracia Alonso De Armiño, Juana Camilion, Vega Gimeno, Sandra Ygueravide
Spain got here out on high within the extraordinarily aggressive 3×3 Qualifying Match, and whereas the Spaniards might not have the star energy of Germany, Canada or the USA, their efficiency in Might confirmed that participant and federation rankings are meaningless as soon as the whistle blows. With current wins at occasions in Poitiers and Bordeaux, Spain has loads of momentum heading into the Paris Olympics.
Azerbaijan (No. 7 seed)
Roster: Tiffany Hayes, Alexandra Mollenhauer, Dina Ulyanova, Marcedes Walker
Azerbaijan doesn’t have the pedigree as a program that a lot of the different nations on the Paris Olympics do, however they certified all the identical by successful the primary Universality Olympic Qualifying Match in April. Although Azerbaijan will probably be thought-about an underdog in most Olympic matchups, they’ve probably the most dynamic gamers within the competitors in Hayes, who can carry a workforce together with her scoring and athleticism.
Australia (No. 8 seed)
Roster: Anneli Maley, Lauren Mansfield, Marena Whittle, Alex Wilson
It’s been considerably troublesome for Australia to earn factors within the FIBA 3×3 rankings because of its distance from most 3×3 occasions, so their seeding within the Paris Olympics isn’t essentially reflective of their stage of expertise. Australia has one of many strongest basketball applications on the earth, most just lately going undefeated within the 2024 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in March and punching their ticket for the Paris Olympics by successful the second Universality Olympic Qualifying Match in Might. Despite the fact that they’re the lowest-seeded nation on this event, it shouldn’t be stunning to anybody if Australia medals at Paris.
