3×3 Basketball to Make Olympic Debut in Tokyo

The first-time Olympic event is a fast-paced and shorter cousin to five-on-five basketball

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

With several sports making their Olympic debuts in Tokyo, 3x3 basketball was center stage as the tournament tipped off on Friday.

In the first men's match on Friday night, Poland beat Latvia, 21-14. Serbia took the second match of the evening taking down China 22-12.

For the women, ROC narrowly beat Japan by 3 points (21-18), followed by the second match for the women where China defeated Romania 21-10.

The U.S. women's team will make their 3x3 debut against France on Saturday at 4:55 a.m. ET, followed by a game against Mongolia at 8 a.m. ET.

Who is on the U.S. Women's team's roster?

The inaugural Team USA 3x3 roster is comprised of Chicago Sky center Stefanie Dolson, Dallas Wings guard Allisha Gray, Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum and Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young. Young was named a replacement for Seattle Storm guard Katie Lou Samuelson, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.

All four athletes are first-time Olympians, but each player has an extensive USA Basketball career, and they are looking to be the first ever Olympic gold medal women’s team in 3x3 basketball.

Kara Lawson, the women's basketball coach at Duke and a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, will coach the 3x3 women's team.

The U.S. men did not qualify for the Olympic debut of 3×3 basketball, marking the first time in history that the U.S. failed to qualify for an Olympic men’s or women’s basketball event.

Watch Team USA battle France live online at 4:55 a.m. ET with featured coverage on NBCSN (12 a.m. to 2 a.m. ET), USA (2 a.m. to 9:50 a.m. ET) and NBC (10:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET).

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