When the U.S. women's 3x3 basketball team dropped its first three games at the Paris Olympics, putting hopes of a gold-medal repeat on the brink, it would've been easy for some despair — or at least panic — to set in. But Team USA didn't falter; after all, nothing else about this Olympic cycle had gone according to plan.

Since winning the inaugural gold in Tokyo, the U.S. roster had been in almost constant flux, professional obligations scuttling any kind of consistency. And just when it seemed like the Americans had settled on an Olympic core, winning the 2023 FIBA World Cup, one-third of that core, Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink, tore her ACL. Brink was replaced by Sparks teammate Dearica Hamby, with another WNBA star, former No. 1 overall pick Rhyne Howard, joining as the fourth member of the team. 

By the time Team USA's final four was set, the Opening Ceremony was less than a month away. That left precious little time to build the kind of on- and off-court chemistry that's even more crucial in the 3x3 game, especially considering Hamby and Howard's relative lack of experience with the format. The result? A crash course together, desperately trying to make up for lost time ahead of facing countries whose teams have played together for years.

"Just being dialed in every single day with the mindset that we know we're at a disadvantage with our preparation and our chemistry," Cierra Burdick said. "So being intentional about getting better every time we stepped on the floor, every time we stepped in the film room."

Unsurprisingly, it was an uphill battle, one that led to a rude awakening once the Games began. For anyone unfamiliar with the 3x3 game, the physicality is jarring: The game is officiated in an entirely different way, and there's twice the space for players to cover — as Hailey Van Lith pointed out, "there is no help defense," meaning each defensive possession is a frantic few seconds of sprinting and banging bodies. The U.S. had yet to experience that sensation together, yet to understand what it really demanded, much less developed trust and schematic coherence on the court.

"I personally enjoy physicality," said Hamby, who's in the midst of a career year with L.A. "Like in the WNBA, that's like, my thing. This is a different level. It takes some wear and tear on you physically."

And so Team USA went from gold-medal favorites to 0-2 in the blink of an eye, falling to two teams (Germany and Azerbaijan) that hadn't even competed in Tokyo. Then came a third straight loss, this time to Australia, and most back home were ready to push the panic button.

For the team itself, however, there was a kind of freedom in hitting rock bottom.

"We know the standard of USA Basketball is gold," Hamby said, and the pressure was palpable. "But I think also when we went down 0-3, it was like, 'We got nothing to lose at this point.' So maybe it let us, in a sense, just play more freely."

They also played more tenaciously, digging in their heels and embracing what this competition demanded. 

"A lot of it comes down to just sheer will and determination and having the want and the desire to outwork your opponent," Burdick said. "And I think there was a shift in our mentality and our approach, from the first few games to the latter half of the competition and just how hard we were working."

The U.S. won its next game against Spain, a first step in the right direction. And then, suddenly, it couldn't lose: silencing a raucous home crowd against France, topping Canada in an OT thriller, beating China to avoid elimination and clinch a spot in the play-in, beating China again to reach the semifinals — two wins away from an improbable gold.

And then, just as suddenly, it was over. The U.S. was better than Spain in the run of play, outshooting the European nation from the field by a significant margin, but a 6-1 free-throw advantage was the difference in an overtime loss. It's the cruelty at the heart of the Olympics: No matter how well things are going, all it takes is one moment for it all to go up in smoke.

Still deflated — and exhausted — from a heartbreaking loss just a few hours earlier, the U.S. fell behind early in the bronze medal game against Canada. "I think at first we weren't ready to match their level of play, because we were tired from playing Spain, and the emotions were kind of all over the place," Van Lith said.

But, as it had done all competition, the U.S. dug in, closing the game on a 6-1 run to capture bronze — not the goal it set at the start of the Games, but a physical testament to a grueling journey.

"In hindsight, I mean, now just trying to keep everything in perspective, we're all Olympians and we're going home Olympic medalists, and that's something that no one will ever be able to take away from us," Burdick said. "And, you know, I think we're all competitors, and we all strive for excellence, and we wanted to get the gold, but to keep things in perspective — this is an incredible blessing."