Basketball has, typically, been dominated by Team USA at the Olympics on both the men’s and women’s sides, but when it comes to the new 3×3 format, the USA men have not been able to figure out how to get on the medal stand. After failing to podium at the Tokyo Olympics, the Americans came into Paris with plenty of pressure but not a lot of star power.
Jimmer Fredette was the big name on the team, with Canyon Barry, Kareem Maddox, and Dylan Travis joining him, and it was apparent early in the competition that they were not going to be among the favorites. After losing to Serbia, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia in their first three games of pool play, the Americans would need a big finish to make the knockout rounds. They did beat France and China, but in their final game of the competition on Sunday, they got absolutely dog-walked by the Netherlands in an embarrassing 21-6 loss.
It’s not abundantly clear why Team USA can’t figure out how to find four players that can compete with the rest of the world in 3×3, but after two Olympic cycles, it’s clear the American men just aren’t close. While it’s certainly a different style of play, it’s fairly incredible Team USA cannot figure out how to put together a competitive roster in any basketball event. The American women were able to turn around their own slow start to punch a ticket to the knockout rounds, winning their play-in against China to earn a spot in the semifinals on Monday against Spain, keeping their hopes of a second straight gold alive.
The men, meanwhile, will be headed back home empty handed (where they goin’, Chuck?) and USA Basketball has a lot of work to do to figure out the formula for 3×3 going into the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
