3 ON 3 BASKETBALL
A NEW TREND?
As I’m sure many of y’all know, recently 3 on 3 basketball has been added to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. If you are a fan of basketball or go up to your local YMCA or basketball park, you’ve likely played three on three basketball. The dynamics of 3 on 3 is much different than the dynamics in 5 on 5 basketball, leading many to consider them at times to feel like they are two different sports. This new Olympic game involves NBA players and I am interested to know if street ballers can try out for it. Now, not every country has 3 NBA players so it wouldn’t just be NBA players. This league would help street ballers a lot by allowing them to showcase their talents and maybe even catch an eye of an NBA GM. Now in America I doubt there would be any street ballers that could make a 3 on 3 team, but for other countries it would be interesting. This 3 on 3 basketball new Olympic sport will add many athletes to the Olympics as I expect many players to try out and maybe even amateurs if they are allowed to I am also interested to see how they would pick the teams. For the USA, they might have some sort of combine in which Coach K uses to determine who the best three players are that are fit for 3 on 3 basketball. Now some players are better at 3 on 3 than 5 on 5 and some are the opposite. If I had to pick a 3 on 3 basketball team right now, some players i would consider include the following. I’m guessing it would most likely be a guard like Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, etc. I believe Irving would be the starting guard due to his ability to create shots and space and even create shots for his teammates. For starting forward I believe it would be between Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul George. Anthony is an olympics game legend as he has won USA Basketball Male Athlete of the year three times (2006, 2008, and 2016). Anthony is also a master at the iso game which would also help him. His biggest struggle in my opinion is his lacking ability to play transition defense, but since it’s only half court basketball it wouldn’t affect his game that much. Like Irving, Durant has a strong ability of making and creating shots which helped him win USA Basketball Male Athlete of the year in 2016 in which he shared the award with Anthony. With Irving starting at guard and Durant starting at forward, we need a big men. I believe the two most considered big men would be Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins. Both provide good size, athleticism, versatility, and ability to stretch the floor. Cousins provides a bigger frame than Davis though which puts him at the starting position. Now Cousins would have to step up his defense though due to him going up against foreign big men such as Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic, and Marc Gasol just to name a few. Many do not know this, but Karl Anthony Towns doesn’t play for the USA Men’s Basketball team as he does play for the Dominican Republic. Even though he was born in New Jersey, his mom was born in the Dominican and he was selected to the national team as a 16 year old. Even though the Dominican Republic didn’t qualify for the 2012 Olympics, by 2020 Towns can be a phenomenal center and will be someone to watch out for in the 3 on 3 Basketball Olympics. Now we are just in 2016 so many things can change from now on. We have no idea what will happen in the future and what players will be like in 2020 so there is no point in predicting a 2020 USA Men’s Basketball Team and not even a 3 on 3 Men’s Basketball Team. We know so far that these are some of the rules:
A 12 second shot clock
A half court game
No make it take it
When you get a defensive rebound you will have to take the ball out
The scoring is 1’s and 2’s so therefore a regular NBA 2 pointer will be a 1 pointer and a regular NBA 3 pointer will be a 2 pointer
There will be fouls
Their will be one quarter in which that quarter is 10 minutes long
First team to score 21 points or is leading the game when the 10 minutes is over wins
Each team roster includes four players which means three starters and one off the bench player
Basically the rules are just like park rules except for things like fouls, 10 minute quarters, a shot clock, etc.
After going over the newly added 3 on 3 Basketball Olympic sport, it is safe to say that I am very hyped to see how this turns out and if we will see some national teams holding tryouts for amateurs and how they will pick the teams.
Now this isn’t the only newly added 3 on 3 Basketball League. In January of 2017 a new Basketball League was announced. It is called the BIG3 and is founded by actor, producer, and rapper Ice Cube. It is a 3 on 3 league for former professional players. He announced that the league would open up on June 25th at the Barclay’s Center and would be played each weekend after that in the Summer and in a different arena. There are 10 games to determine seeding. The top 4 seeds battle for the championship and the bottom 4 seeds battle to see who will be the 5th best team, the 6th best team, the 7th best team, and the 8th best team. Former NBA shooting guard Roger Mason Jr. is the commissioner for the league. In late March, the league announced that they signed a deal with FOX Sports to broadcast their league. Before showing the rosters, the captains and co-captains will be playing in the league. The coaches will not be playing. Some interesting aspects this league has put in include:
A 4 point shot
To speed up the game, when you get fouled you shoot one shot for two points
If you get fouled for a three, you get one shot for three shots
The game lasts 30 minutes or until one team scores 60 points
To win the game, you must be the first team to score 60 points or be leading by the time the 30 minutes is over
Their will be a shot clock
The eight teams include:
3’s Company:
CAPTAIN: Allen Iverson
CO-CAPTAIN: Demarr Johnson
THREE PLAYERS:
Andre Owens
Mike Sweetny
Ruben Patterson
COACH: Allen Iverson
(Iverson will be coaching and playing)
3 Headed Monsters:
CAPTAIN: Richard Lewis
CO-CAPTAIN: Jason Williams
THREE PLAYERS:
Kwame Brown
Eddie Baston
Mahmoud Abdul Rauf
COACH: Gary Payton
GHOST BALLERS:
CAPTAIN: Mike Bibby
CO-CAPTAIN: Ricky Davis
THREE PLAYERS:
Mo Evans
Marcus Banks
Ivan Johnson
COACH: George Gervin
BALL HOGS:
CAPTAIN: Brian Scalabrine
CO-CAPTAIN: Josh Childress
Derrick Byars
Rasual Butler
Dominic Mcquire
COACH: Rick Barry
TRI-STATE:
CAPTAIN: Jermaine O’Neal
CO-CAPTAIN: Bonzi Wells
THREE PLAYERS:
Xavier Silas
Lee Nailon
Mike Jones
COACH: Julius Erving
POWER:
CAPTAIN: Corey Maggette
CO-CAPTAIN: Cuttino Mobley
THREE PLAYERS:
Jerome Williams
Deshawn Stevenson
Moochie Norris
COACH: Clyde Drexler
KILLER 3’S:
CAPTAIN: Chauncey Billups
CO-CAPTAIN: Stephen Jackson
THREE PLAYERS:
Reggie Evans
Larry Hughes
Brian Cook
COACH: Charles Oakley
TRILOGY:
CAPTAIN: Kenyon Martin
CO-CAPTAIN: Al Harrington
THREE PLAYERS:
Rashad Mccants
James White
Dion Glove
COACH: Rick Mahorn
After looking at the teams I believe the two that will meet in the championship are the Killer 3’s and the 3 Headed Monsters. I really hope and believe this league is successful. After the NBA season, the only basketball left is the WNBA and many cannot get into that. This will be a fun league to watch during the summer and it allows the players to get rest with a game being every weekend. I hope this league will start to expand if it does good and it has potential to be the 2nd most watched professional basketball league behind the NBA.
Now, with going over both of the recently added 3 on 3 leagues/Olympic sports, it is safe to say the 3 on 3 basketball is becoming a trend. In the two leagues we looked at, the rules have their similarities and they have their differences. After looking in depth and researching the new BIG3 League, I was thinking to myself that instead of going overseas to play after some players retire, they will join the BIG3 League. Now that doesn’t go for every player though. I believe the newly added 3 on 3 Olympic sport may possibly give overseas amateurs a chance to show their self and maybe catch an eye of an NBA scout or GM. For the BIG3 League, it gives players opportunities to continue playing the game they love and to continue to get paid. I am most certain the fans will love these leagues. This has been Larry Bird thank you for reading this article! Make sure to comment your thoughts and opinions on this article and who you think will win the BIG3 League!
