Jimmer Fredette and the rest of the US men’s 3×3 basketball team lost for the second day in a row, first to no. 1 Serbia 22-14 on July 30 and second to Poland 19-17 on July 31. While neither matches are elimination, their two losses put them last of eight teams, tied with Lithuania.
At the end of pool play, the bottom two teams will be eliminated from the tournament. The eight teams will play each other once, meaning Team USA has five more chances to get points on the board and move from last place.
Here are Fredette’s stats for game two against Poland:
With 20 seconds to go, Fredette missed a two-point shot that would have tied Poland 19-19. He also is typically known for two-point shots (three-point shots in a regular NBA game) but was off his game tonight with zero of four attempts made.
Poland athlete Adrian Bogucki led both teams in points scored, making seven of eight one-point shots. Team USA attempted more two-point shots but made fewer, and Poland led in successful one-point shots as well. Fredette and his team were seeded to win, being ranked no. 2 in the FIBA 3×3 Federation Rankings, whereas Poland is ranked no. 18.
Below are a few factors that contributed to the team’s first loss against Serbia.
Photos courtesy AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
Size
The heights of Team USA come in at 6’2’’ (Jimmer Fredette), 6’2’’ (Dylan Travis), 6’5’’ (Canyon Barry) and 6’6’’ (Kareem Maddox). Team Serbia has heights of 6’5’’ (Marko Branković), 6’5’’ (Dejan Majstorović), 6’5’’ (Mihailo Vasić) and 6’6’’ (Strahinja Stojacic). With a height advantage of three or four inches against two US players and consistent successful one-point shots, Serbia defeated Team USA 22-14.
Foul Trouble
The ten fouls of Team USA resulted in six free throws for Serbia, four of them successful. Serbia’s eight fouls only gave the US one free throw, which they missed.
Experience
While Serbia has only won one medal for 3×3 basketball (won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics), they’ve competed since 2012 in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup and FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup. Of the 16 appearances they’ve made, they’ve won eleven gold and two silver medals, placing below the top three only three times.
In addition to their 3×3 dominance over the past decade, the 2024 Serbia team has Dejan Majstorovic, a returning 3×3 player from the 2020 Olympics, and Strahinja Stojacic, the world’s top-ranked player.
While Fredette has recently done well in 3×3 basketball, winning the 2022 Red Bull USA Basketball 3X East Regional and the 2022 FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup, he and his teammates have only 20 combined years of experience, while Team Serbia has about 32 combined years.
Fredette and the rest of Team USA will play again on Thursday, July 31, at 7:05p.m. MDT.
