3x3 Basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Basketball played on a half-court with 3-person teams had long been a popular street game. It had also débuted at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and was played at the Youth Olympics in 2014 and 2018. World Championships (later World Cups) in 3x3 basketball had first been held in 2012, with Serbia dominating the men’s tournaments, winning in 2012 and 2016-18. The United States women had won in 2012 and 2014 but no truly dominant team had appeared since then.

Both men’s and women’s tournaments had 8 teams playing a round-robin format and advancing to a knock-out stage. The biggest surprise of pre-Olympic qualifying occurred when the United States’ men did not qualify, although the American team did not have NBA players on it. In contrast, the American women had a 3x3 team from the WNBA and were expected to be strong, although they lost one of their top players, Katie Lou Samuelson, to a positive COVID-19 test shortly before the tournament.

Basketball 3x3 consisted of games to 21 points, or to the highest score in 10 minutes of play, with sudden-death if tied at the end of regulation time. Teams had 3 players with one substitute allowed. A very fast-paced game, a 12-second shot clock was in play for the offensive team.