PARIS – FIBA introduced 3×3 as an official discipline 14 years ago, and the basketball format has now been included in two Olympics. The style is wildly popular in Eastern European countries, with teams playing professionally together year-round.
The passion is palpable, and the environment at 3×3 games here in Paris is more-or-less electric. But the product itself lacks any real flow and doesn’t resemble pick-up games played across the globe. And if the point of including 3×3 in the Olympics program is to provide fans with a more accessible, universal brand of basketball compared to traditional five-on-five, then FIBA’s Olympic format has not been a home run.
With the understanding that the world does not revolve around America, here are five changes (and a bonus sixth) we’d like FIBA to consider by the time the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles arrive.
Play to 21, no matter what
Games currently end once a team reaches 21 points. This should always be the norm. Too often at the Olympics, games lasted the full 10 minutes without the winning team reaching the 21-point threshold. Eliminate any semblance of a game clock and let the score be the lone, deciding goalpost. If one of the points of playing 3×3 is to be different than normal basketball, doing away with the clock would be an easy fix.
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‘I’m not going to lie,’ USA women’s 3×3 player Hailey van Lith said after the team’s bronze-medal victory. ‘Either extending the point total or the time, I think the fans would like to see a little bit more basketball. But at the end of the day, that makes my life harder. So I don’t know. I think it’s a tough question.’
Get rid of the 12-second shot clock
This is similar to point No. 1, but the real reason is that 12 seconds is simply too short. The offensive possessions are harried and taking good shots is far too rare. The game will still move fast enough in the half-court format.
Keeping a time limit on possessions is still a good idea, though. Maybe 18 seconds? The traditional 24? FIBA should try this out at youth tournaments in the intervening years to figure it out. But 12 seconds is chaos, and the product is hindered because of it.
Make it, take it
The cardinal rule of playground hoops should live on the Olympic stage. Teams that score the basketball should retain possession. Solid defense and rebounding would be the only way to win the ball back – and that is OK.
This would increase the number of passive-aggressive checks at the top of the key, which is something that has fortunately transcended from the blacktop to the Olympics.
Add another sub – or at least an alternate
The U.S. men’s chances of doing anything worthwhile at the Olympics ended with the injury to former college basketball legend Jimmer Fredette. He had to sit on a chair and serve as an on-court coach for the remainder of the tournament following his injury in the second game.
Team USA should have been allowed to bring in an alternate at a minimum, and Cierra Burdick said she’s heard talk of that panning out. Or, in an ideal world, increase the roster size to five. In our utopian 3×3 world, the games would last much longer anyway, so having an extra sub would serve everyone well.
‘I’m just heartbroken for them … battling with three,’ Burdick said.
Improve officiating, get rid of free throws
The inconsistency among the officials is somehow worse in 3×3 than the NBA or other leagues across the world. During the bronze-medal game between the U.S. and Canada, a ludicrous technical foul was assessed and really pushed the scales in favor of the U.S.
“I think they need to clean up the fouls,” Hamby said.
“And the referees need to take more classes,” she added. “Watch some film.”
Fouls should not result in free throws, either. There is currently a ‘double-bonus’ in 3×3 – how ridiculous. Nobody plays that way casually. Be relatable!
Bonus: Use a normal basketball!
A basketball is the opposite of a snowflake: it’s the same everywhere. For 3×3 to force the rubbery, off-colored sphere into the format is a travesty.