The United States owns Olympic basketball.

The U.S. men have won four straight gold medals and 16 out of 20, and this year, they send a roster to Paris so deep and talented as to rival the "Dream Team." The U.S. women have been even more dominant — they're sending an elite roster to Paris seeking Olympic history with an eighth straight team sport gold medal.

Well, the U.S. owns 5-on-5 basketball — 3x3 basketball is something different.

Olympic 3x3 will feel new to American audiences, as this is only the second Games it has been played and the first with an American roster competing in the men's tournament.

"We're just grateful to be the first American men's 3x3 team ever," said Jimmer Fredette, the BYU legend and sharpshooter who played in seven NBA seasons and has found a second career as a 3x3 star. "We're pioneers of a sport in the Olympics. There's not many people that get to say that they have an opportunity."

3x3 basketball is a lot closer to the game many of us have played on a park blacktop or LA Fitness court: It is half-court, fast-paced, and has a 12-second shot clock. The ball has to be cleared beyond the 3-point arc after any made shot or after a defensive rebound when a shot hits the rim, but make a steal, and offense can turn to defense in a heartbeat. And the first team to 21 wins (with a 10-minute time limit).

"I think spectators are gonna see it in the Olympics and be like, 'Wow, this is kind of fun to watch,'" Fredette said. "But also every single play and possession matters. Like a lot. You make one two [pointer] and it's 10% of the points that you make for the game, right? It's really crazy to think about, so every possession matters."

The U.S. men's 3x3 team is a seasoned four-man squad: Fredette, the household name who has thrived playing in China in recent years; Canyon Barry — the son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry and brother of NBA champion Brent Barry — who played his college ball at the University of Charleston and Florida; Kareem Maddox, the Southern California native who played his college ball at Princeton; and Dylan Travis, who was an NCAA Division II national champion while at Florida Southern.

Those four have been 3x3 rockstars playing as Team Miami on the FIBA World Tour circuit. In the more than a year they have been together, they have won a silver medal at the 2023 World Cup, won gold at the 2023 Pan American Games, plus racked up a series of World Tour wins.

That time together is the team's secret weapon. While this sport may be new to American audiences, it is the continuity and teamwork this foursome built that sets them apart.

"It's paramount. I mean it's something you can't fake. You can't manufacture it. It just comes from time and attention, to use a strength training term," said Maddox. "We've had time, and we've had lots of tension — it wasn't smooth sailing. We had to figure a lot of stuff out last year. And that is where chemistry comes from, in my opinion, and again, you can't manufacture it, you can't fake it."

"It matters a lot because it's such quick decisions, so you have to be on the same page," Fredette added. "And it's not just all one-on-one basketball, you won't see a whole lot of that. There's a lot of screens, re-screens or flare screens and rolls and backdoor cuts and different things where you have to know what the other person is going to do. And that's been huge for us. We've been able to be together now for almost two years on the same team."

"So now when we get out there, we are on a string. We know exactly what everyone's gonna do at what time and it's super important to do that."

"It's massive in 3x3," Barry said of the chemistry built. "Coming from a five-on-five background like everybody else on the team, it's just a whole different animal where chemistry in 3x3 can make or break a team, even more so than talent.”

While nearly everyone who has shot a basketball has played 3x3, to learn to do it at the highest level takes time. While this foursome had talent, it took time on the court to adjust to the nuances of how to play this style.

"It probably took me a full six months before I felt really comfortable," Fredette said. "So it takes time because it's just it's a quicker game. Transitioning from offense to defense is something that you don't normally deal with that quickly. It's half-court, but also just little things, like there's no help side defense in 3x3. You basically are stuck to your guy, and it's better to give up a layup than it is to give up the open [two], so you don't help down as much, and little lines and things like that."

Like everyone on this team, Fredette's path to 3x3 was untraditional — but it's landed him in Paris, riding in a boat down the Seine for the Opening Ceremony and taking the court with "USA" across his chest.

"It's been unbelievable, rewarding and I definitely can't complain," Fredette said of his career arc. "I mean, what an awesome career I've had and it has built me into the person I am today, and not just a basketball player. So it's been pretty incredible to experience so many cool different cultures and places."

Nothing would cap off that career like a gold medal — and while it all may seem new to American fans, the year he spent building continuity with these other three men may give it to him.

And keep the U.S. dominant in basketball.