What's Next After 'Random' USA 3x3 Men's Basketball Misses Tokyo Olympics

The United States 3x3 men's basketball team failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics after a quarter-final exit in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Austria.

With only three tickets up for grabs for each gender, the USA 3x3 men's team relatively composed of unknowns were knocked out by the Netherlands in the Final 8, 21-16.

The team was composed of Kareem Maddox, Dominique Jones, Robbie Hummel and Joey King, who replaced Canyon Barry, the son of NBA legend Rick.

The squad is a mix of G-Leaguers, who all have other non-basketball careers in the present.

Hummel has NBA pedigree, having played briefly for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Maddox is involved with podcast production, while Jones is probably the most veteran in the said field, having suited up in the FIBA 3x3 circuits since 2019.

In contrast, the USA women's selection, bannered by WNBA stars Kelsey Plum, Allisha Gray, Stef Dolson and Katie Lou Samuelson, swept its opposition to secure a 3x3 debut at Tokyo.

The downfall of the men's team poses an interesting question whether the United States should consider sending better players in the event, a high-risk, high-reward move that would maintain their standing as the world's basketball superpower.

"It would please FIBA if the United States sent a team like the Hummel-led squad that just won gold to Tokyo. That would help prove that years of participation in 3x3 helps players hone a unique skill set that can’t be developed in five-on-five leagues," The Ringer's Rodger Sherman wrote in 2019.

Interestingly, the same core won the FIBA 3x3 World Championship back in 2019, but it seems the rest of the world has caught up to the level of competition.

"But if Barry, an occasional starter in the G League, can be one of the best players at a 3x3 World Cup, I’m confident a few random NBA players or G League stars with a month or two of 3x3 exposure will lay waste to the competition and bring the U.S. an Olympic gold."

Ironically, what Sherman describes as a bunch of "random" players weren't necessarily random, with all having competitive hoops experience.

However, the United States' lack of preparation time and less exposure to 3x3 leagues globally might have backfired on them against better opposition.

"Of course, in the early stages of the sport’s existence, the best players will be ones who developed their skills in the traditional form of the game," Sherman added in his piece.

"Maybe in 50 years, 3x3 will be a mainstream alternative to full-court hoops with its own stars, and we’ll look back on the 2019 season as a strange prototype when fringe full-court hoopers and part-timers could win gold."

True enough, more cohesive teams with years' worth of 3x3 playing experience took home tickets to the Tokyo Olympics, where the version of the sport will be played for the first time.