Team USA is the defending 3-on-3 champion, but China and France are on its heels

The defending champion U.S. will be represented by an entirely new cast from Tokyo. However, it boasts major talent and half the team that won the 3-on-3 World Cup in 2023. Cierra Burdick and Hailey Van Lith are at opposite ends of their 5-on-5 careers. On the half court, though, they have battled through two World Cups, among other competitions. Rhyne Howard brings the versatility and scoring that made her one of Team USA’s biggest assets at its 5-on-5 Olympic qualifying tournament. Dearica Hamby replaces the injured Cameron Brink, who tore her ACL in June. The 6’3 Hamby was the 2023 3-on-3 AmeriCup MVP and hit the game-winning shot to beat Brazil for the championship, 21-20.

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The rest of the world

While Burdick and Van Lith are still getting acquainted with their new teammates, much of the rest of the field has played together for years.

China is the No. 1–ranked team in the world and the favorite, according to FIBA. Wan Ji Yuan, Wang LiLi and Zhang ZhiTing return from the bronze-medal-winning team in Tokyo. At those Games, Wang equaled Kelsey Plum of the U.S. with the event scoring mark of 55. The trio also played together at the past two World Cups, winning bronze in 2022 and placing fourth in 2023. Zhang was also on the World Cup gold-medal squad from 2019. New to the team is 24-year-old Chen MingLing.

The hosts France also features a strong contingent. Myriam Djekoundade, Laetitia Guapo, Hortense Limouzin and Marie-Eve Paget won the gold medal at the 2022 World Cup and the silver in 2023. Guapo was the MVP in 2022 and an All-Star in 2023. She and Paget were also on the team that placed fourth in the Tokyo Games.

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Outside the top three, Germany, Canada, Spain, Azerbaijan and Australia will premiere in the Olympics. Canada won a 2022 World Cup silver medal with the same group of Kacie Bosch, Paige Crozon and twins Katherine and Michelle Plouffe. Australia is the reigning World Cup bronze medalist. Returning are the foursome of Anneli Maley, Lauren Mansfield, Alex Wilson and Marena Whittle, who led the event with 70 points. A familiar name from the Azerbaijani team is Tiffany Hayes, who won two NCAA titles with UConn.

The 3-on-3 competition opens Tuesday, with the U.S. facing Germany and the big matchup between China and France. Games continue each day, with the U.S. meeting both France and Canada on Aug. 2. The final women’s match is Aug. 3 between the U.S. and China. Aug. 5 will be the semifinals and medal round.

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