Team USA off to losing start in 3x3 basketball at Paris Olympics

Four years after it failed to qualify for the inaugural 3x3 basketball tournament in Tokyo, Team USA was poised to right those wrongs in the Paris Games. However, the country got off to an inauspicious start on Tuesday, suffering a 22-14 loss to Serbia in the first game of pool play.

Jimmer Fredette — the world's top-ranked 3x3 player — got Team USA off to a solid start when he made a step-back three (counted as two in 3x3) to give his country an early lead. However, top-ranked Serbia proved too much for Team USA as the game progressed, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. 

Serbia was so scorching hot scoring the ball that it went 12-for-12 on one-point shots, with starters Marko Brankovic (4-for-4), Strahinja Stojacic (4-for-4) and Mihailo Vasic (3-for-3) all capitalizing on Team USA's weak defense.  

Team USA tried to claw back into the game when Kareem Maddox made a two-pointer with a little over three minutes left, cutting the deficit to 18-14. However, Serbia's Dejan Majstorovic would respond with a timely two-pointer to create just enough separation to seal the win for his country. 

After the loss, Fredette conceded that the Olympic rhythm was "different" to other 3x3 events he had participated in. On the road to the Paris Games, Fredette — playing alongside the same Team USA roster of Maddox, Canyon Barry and Dylan Travis — won gold at the 2023 Pan American Games and silver at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup. The run helped Team USA climb to No. 2 on the FIBA 3x3 rankings. 

Despite the loss, Fredette said the Olympic atmosphere will help Team USA the rest of the way in Paris.

"It's good to be able to see that, feel that crowd, feel that energy, what it's going to be like," he told USA TODAY Sports. [Serbia] just did a better job than us of executing their game plan." 

Fredette is optimistic that Team USA will turn things around after the loss to Serbia. 

"We have a lot more to go," said the former BYU star. "...Hopefully we can play better and finish the job here."

Team USA will next play Poland on Wednesday, followed by matches against Lithuania, Latvia, France, China and the Netherlands to round off the seven matches in the pool stages.