LAS VEGAS — Whether it’s weathering Olympic-strength sailing winds or taking aim during a Malaysian monsoon, 3×3 basketball players are used to challenging conditions to say the least.
The Olympics first sanctioned 3×3 play for the 2020 Games in Tokyo, though Team USA didn’t qualify for the men’s tournament as Latvia — the West Virginia-sized Baltic nation of 1.8 million — took gold.
So when the U.S. men open this Olympic tournament on July 30 in Paris against Germany, it could be the first time many Americans see this fast-paced, half-court version of James Naismith’s game.
The most jarring scene will be that games are played outdoors where weather, like wind and rain, can alter long-range shots.
Team USA’s Canyon Barry said conditions can be “definitely challenging” and offered up the most understated analysis of the sport.
“Obviously, we’re a team that shoots the ball pretty well,” said Barry, the son of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry and a former standout himself at Florida and College of Charleston. “So when we’re playing in 30 or 40 mph winds, it’s not always the best for us.”
And that’s not hyperbole.
Welcome to the world of 3×3 basketball
- The game is played outdoors on a half-court with teams attacking and defending the same hoop depending on who has possession. The ball is a tad smaller, leading to a faster style of play.
- There’s a 12-second shot clock, as opposed to the NBA’s 24 seconds.
- Baskets inside the 3-point line are worth 1 point, while shots outside the 22-foot stripe are worth 2.
- The first team to 21 points wins or whichever team is leading after 10 minutes. If the score is tied, the first team to score 2 points in overtime wins.
Longtime USA 3×3 coach Joe Lewandowski recalled having his team play in Marseille, France, the scene of the Olympic sailing competition, where they had no choice but to “figure it out.”
“It was insane,” Lewandowski, who played at Division II Slippery Rock in the 1990s, said of the FIBA 3×3 Men’s World Tour in May. “It was one of those ones where you shoot it and you’re like, ‘OK maybe I have to shoot it 5 feet right for it to maybe go left.’ My guess is FIBA will begin to say, ‘We have to legislate that out. We have to either delay the game or change it because it affects how the game is played.’ But right now, you got to figure (the surroundings) out.”
Veteran 3×3 player and former Princeton star Kareem Maddox not-so-fondly recalled the 2018 Penang World Tour event that…
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