How the U.S. 3×3 Olympic team went from winless to semifinalists

The team closed out pool play with a 14-12 win over China on Saturday at La Concorde Urban Park. It then needed to beat China a second time, three hours later, in a play-in game, 21-13. Canada beat Australia, 21-10, in the other play-in game to set up a semifinal with Germany. The Germans were the top team in the group stage, owning a 6-1 record.

“We’re feeling really good momentum going into the medal round,” U.S. forward Dearica Hamby told The Next. “We just got better each game. We knew our No. 1 problem was our chemistry, having not all been together prior to four days before getting here. We’re peaking at the right time. While other teams know what [other opponents] are doing, a lot of teams are still trying to figure out how to play us.”

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It was Hamby’s game-high nine points, along with five rebounds, that lifted the U.S. over China in the play-in game. Forward Cierra Burdick added five points and a game-high eight rebounds. After China scored on two possessions, Hamby scored three of Team USA’s final four points to secure the win. China was the top-ranked team in the world entering Saturday.

The U.S. is the reigning Olympic champion, but it has an entirely new roster from the one from Tokyo. In addition to Hamby and Burdick, guard Rhyne Howard and guard Hailey Van Lith are wearing the red, white and blue. The 3×3 variety of hoops uses half the court, is played outdoors and lasts only 10 minutes of game time.

While many teams in the 3×3 tournament rely on go-to scorers, the U.S. is using a balanced attack. Van Lith leads the team with 4.7 points per game. However, that ranks only 11th in the competition and well behind event leader Tiffany Hayes of Azerbaijan (7.7). Hamby is averaging 4.1 points per game, Howard is at 3.9 and Burdick is at 2.7.

The U.S. is also shooting the second-highest percentage of any team in the tournament from behind the arc, at 33%, and leads the field with 15.0 rebounds per game. They are doing the latter by committee, too, with each player averaging between 2.3 and 4.4 rebounds per game.

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“Just staying optimistic,” Burdick said about overcoming the 0-3 start. “I think I was probably the most frustrated out of the group. I think when I look back on our [2023] World Cup, we lost our first game against Canada, too. I saw the strides we made in the time we were together. So I look back on that experience, and I believed the same would happen with this group. We continued to get more reps and chemistry and time together, [and] I knew we would get some momentum.”

Burdick will go down in history as the last USA Basketball player to have played for legendary Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt in the Olympics. Summitt played on the inaugural U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team in 1976. She then coached the team to a gold medal in 1984 and retired from college coaching after Burdick’s freshman season at Tennessee in 2012.

“It’s a blessing,” Burdick said of being in Paris. “I’m super competitive. So I am dialed in on the games, but I don’t want to lose sight of this moment. I want to enjoy it and savor it and experience it with my family and friends who are here. I don’t want it to be a wasted opportunity, and I have a lot of gratitude for where I am right now.”

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Heading into Monday’s semifinal, the U.S. has already played Spain once in this tournament. On Thursday, the Americans topped the Spaniards 17-11 to get their first win of the Olympics.

Read more of our coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, including stories live from France.