Expanding Opportunities

The other day I was reading an article where they quoted a FIBA official about 3x3 basketball's upcoming Olympic debut in Tokyo.  It covered the qualification system and some other aspects of the tournament and was actually pretty enlightening.  In fact, it made me view the 3x3 tournament in a new light.

When the IOC added 3x3, my initial reaction was "Why?"  It seemed gimmicky, an obvious ploy to cater to the younger fans that they're desperate to attract.  I'm still lukewarm about 3x3 and I still don't think it's 100 percent necessary (unlike skateboarding and surfing, which were added only for the Tokyo Games, 3x3 was added by the IOC to the permanent program, so it's here to stay).  But I failed to look at it from one very important perspective.  One that proves the tournament does have value.

In the regular 5x5 basketball tournament, 12 teams qualify for both men and women.  There are one or two surprises, but, for the most part, you know who those 12 teams are going to be.  For the most part, they're generally the same from Olympics to Olympics.  And you're also gonna have a pretty good idea of who's got a shot at winning a medal.

I'm not saying that's a bad thing.  Fans want to see the stars of the NBA and WNBA playing for their countries, and having NBA or WNBA stars on their rosters is what makes those nations the best in the world.  The Olympics is where the best take on the best, which is how it should be.

But...it does limit the opportunities for smaller countries, which have little chance of qualifying and an even lower chance of actually being competitive if they do.  Everyone goes in knowing that the African and Asian teams are most likely going to be the ones that don't make the quarterfinals.  And if they do, they're not going to medal (outside of the Australian women's team, all Olympic basketball medalists have come from the Americas or Europe).

However, there is one basketball court where the playing field is much more level--the 3x3 court.  For 3x3, all you need is four people.  It's obviously a lot easier to field a team of four than a team of 12, which gives smaller nations the chance to also play Olympic basketball. 

These are some of the countries that played 3x3 at the 2018 Youth Olympics: Andorra, Estonia, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka.  At past Youth Olympics, there have been teams from Guatemala, Syria, Vanuatu, Chinese Taipei, Guam, Chile and the Virgin Islands.  Belgium won the silver medal and Slovenia won the bronze on the boys' side in 2018, while the Netherlands won the silver and Hungary finished fourth in the 2014 girls' tournament.

Without 3x3, would we ever mention Olympic basketball and any of these nations in the same sentence?  Of course not!  And for that reason, 3x3 is a tremendous addition to the program.

There will only be eight men's and eight women's teams in Tokyo, but they've made it a point to make sure it's not all the same countries we'll see in the 5x5 tournaments.  That would defeat the purpose.  Will there be overlap?  Sure.  But we're also going to see some nations where 3x3 is their only realistic chance to play Olympic basketball.  And don't be surprised if they end up being medal contenders.

It's like when they added beach volleyball to the Olympics in 1996.  Suddenly Olympic volleyball was open to a lot more countries.  You didn't need the six players necessary for the indoor game.  On the beach, you only need two.  Sometimes you can find that in one family (two Swiss brothers were one of the top teams in the world for years).  And, with 24 teams in the Olympic field, you know you're gonna see some nations beyond the traditional powers.  Which is great.  A lot of those teams are good, too.

While that first Olympic beach volleyball tournament in Atlanta seemed somewhat weird, it has since become one of the marquee Olympic sports.  Seriously, can you picture the Olympics today WITHOUT beach volleyball?  Beach volleyball is always one of the hottest tickets at an Olympics.  I'd even argue that it's more popular than the indoor version (and the bikinis are only part of the reason).

Will 3x3 basketball ever get to that same level?  Probably not.  Especially since traditional basketball is the second-biggest sport on Earth behind soccer.  But 3x3 will accomplish a lot more than just that youthful, urban vibe the IOC is going for.  It'll open up Olympic basketball to different players and whole new group of nations.  That alone is enough to make the 3x3 experiment worthwhile.