Basketball first joined the Olympic program as a medal sport in 1936, and nowadays, it's one of the most popular sports at the Games. But the last Olympics introduced a new variety of hoops to the Olympics: 3x3 basketball, the fast-paced, half-court version of the sport popular on playgrounds and gyms around the world.
Get up to speed below on what to know as 3x3 basketball prepares to return for its second Olympic Games.
Which country has won the most Olympic medals in 3x3 basketball?
The current medal leader is not a country, but an organization. The ROC (short for "Russian Olympic Committee") won two medals —silver for both men and women — at 3x3's inaugural Olympic appearance. (Russia was banned from the Tokyo Olympics because of its participation in a state-sponsored doping program, so athletes competed under the ROC banner instead.) No country won more than one medal in 3x3 in Tokyo.
How many Olympic medals has Team USA won in 3x3 basketball?
The United States won gold in women's 3x3 at the Tokyo Games, giving Team USA its only Olympic medal so far in 3x3 basketball.
What happened at Tokyo 2020 in Olympic 3x3 basketball?
For the Tokyo Olympics, the basketball program was expanded to include 3x3 for the first time, though the sport would have to wait until 2021 to officially make its debut after the Olympics were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 ended up having an impact on the U.S. women's team, as Katie Lou Samuelson tested positive before the Tokyo Games and had to be replaced by Jackie Young. Young joined WNBA peers Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray and Kelsey Plum on a dominant U.S. roster, which only lost one game during pool play before defeating France in the semifinals and then the ROC in the gold-medal game.
On the men's side, the U.S. surprisingly did not qualify for the Olympic tournament despite being the reigning world champions. With the Americans out of the picture, the Latvian team — comprised of Nauris Miezis, Karlis Lasmanis, Edgars Krumins and Agnis Cavars — overcame a lackluster record during pool play (4-3) to beat the ROC in the final by a score of 21-18 and win gold.
Women's Basketball 3x3
🥇: United States
🥈: ROC
🥉: China
Men's Basketball 3x3
🥇: Latvia
🥈: ROC
🥉: Serbia