2024 Olympics: Can Team USA break through in 3x3 pool play?

Team USA’s gold medal defense in women’s 3×3 basketball is off to a rough start.

Through two pool play games, the Americans are winless, falling first to Germany and then to Azerbaijan. With only 30 total points scored, Team USA sits in eighth—and last—place. Advancement to the tournament requires a top-six finish, meaning the American quartet of Rhyne Howard, Dearica Hamby, Cierra Burdick, and Hailey Van Lith have some work to do.

Fortunately, Thursday presents the Americans with an opportunity to begin to reverse their fate, as they, like all teams, will play two games. Grab two wins and, suddenly, things won’t seem so dire for the defending gold medalists. But, that’s easier said than done. Chemistry and cohesion—manifested in quick passes, timely cuts, and connected defense—drive success in 3×3 basketball. Team USA has yet to establish such characteristics, as the foursome has never played together in a major tournament.

Although, as Tiffany Hayes demonstrated for Azerbaijan on Wednesday, elite individual skill still can supersede all. Against Team USA, Hayes applied all her immense athletic gifts to lead Team Azerbaijan to the 20-17 victory. Hayes finished with 11 points, dipping deep into her bag of off-the-dribble scoring tricks. She also grabbed seven boards and swatted three shots. The Americans were led by Hamby’s seven points and five rebounds, with Van Lith adding five points and Burdick chipping in four points and four boards. Howard, who missed a significant chunk of the WNBA season with an ankle injury, has struggled to find her stride in the 3×3 format, managing just a point on Wednesday.

The United States meets Australia (7 a.m. ET) and Spain (3:30 p.m. ET) on Thursday. While Australia fell to Canada in their first match, they defeated Germany on Wednesday. Spain is undefeated in pool play, with wins over Azerbaijan and France. Hayes and the Azerbaijanis meet France (6:30 a.m. ET) and Germany (12:30 p.m. ET). Overall, Hayes leads the competition in scoring (21 points), rebounding (14), and blocked shots (three).

Canada is cruising

Michelle and Katherine Plouffe celebrate a Canadian victory.

Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

Team USA’s northern neighbors, in contrast, are thriving on the court in Paris. The Canadians are at the top of the table, scoring 43 points across two victories. The Plouffe sisters—Michelle and Katherine—both have scored 15 points total to lead Canada to comfortable wins over Australia and China. On Thursday, they’ll aim to preserve their perfection with games against Germany (3:30 a.m. ET) and France (4 p.m. ET).

China looks to solidify spot in standings

3x3 Basketball - Olympic Games Paris 2024 - Day 5 — Mingling Chen initiates the offense for China.

Outside of Hayes and the Plouffe sisters, China’s Mingling Chen has been the competition’s most impressive player. The 6-foot-4 24-year-old has a competition-leading seven drives, allowing her to score efficiently on 1-point shots (71 percent shooting). After an inspiring overtime win over France in their opener, China was resoundingly defeated by the aforementioned Canadians. That decisive loss has the 1-1 Chinese in sixth place with 32 points scored, just above the winless French and Americans. China must hang onto, or improve upon, that spot in the standings to earn a berth in the tournament. Prevailing in what likely are to be two tough matches against Australia (3 a.m. ET) and Spain (12 p.m. ET) on Thursday would put them in a much stronger position.