The Weekly Roundup: The U.S. Captures Olympic Gold in 3x3
Recapping a thrilling gold-medal run and takeaways from the Olympic debut of 3x3 basketball
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The world turned upside down? With apologies to Lin Manuel Miranda, that was the state of the Olympic 5x5 competition entering last night. Australia (sans Liz Cambage), Canada, and France - the FIBA number two, four, and five teams in the world, respectively - were in danger of missing the knockout stage.
Since point differential serves as the tiebreaker, France entered this morning’s contest against the United States needing a win or a loss of less than 15 points to advance. Despite ultimately dropping a 93-82 decision to the United States, France’s inspired performance, culminating in an early fourth-quarter lead, was enough to advance.
Australia (0-2) required at least a 24-point win versus Puerto Rico this morning to capture the final quarterfinal spot. Coming in as 37.5-point favorites against Puerto Rico, the Opals’ prospects for avoiding elimination were promising. Buoyed by a strong second half where it outscored Puerto Rico 51-25, the world’s second-ranked team avoided elimination with a crucial 96-69 victory. The Opals’ 27-point win eliminated Canada, ending Canadians’ hopes of their first Olympic basketball medal in 85 years.
While there have been a few bumps in the road, the United States punched its ticket to the next round and extended its Olympic winning streak to 52 games defeating Nigeria 81-72, Japan 86-69, and France 93-82. The frontcourt of A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Brittney Griner has carried the U.S. squad during pool play, and particularly Wilson whose 20.3 points per game and two double-doubles lead the team. The U.S. faces Australia next in quarterfinal action early Wednesday morning at 12:40 AM Eastern.
Below are the times of the remaining quarterfinal matchups (note that all times are Japan Standard).
Call this part two of my ode to 3x3 basketball (here is Part I), as this week’s roundup focuses on the United States’ exciting gold-medal run and reflects on the unforgettable Olympic debut of 3x3.
Defense (and rebounding and free throw shooting) wins championships
In its semifinal and gold-medal contests, the United States failed to outshoot its opponents from the field. In fact, the U.S. combined to shoot just 1-14 from behind the arc and failed to eclipse a shooting efficiency of 0.50 points per shot attempt for the first time in the Olympics. The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) forced eight U.S. turnovers and committed just four in the 3x3 finale. It wasn’t exactly a recipe for a U.S. gold medal. Yet, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Stefanie Dolson, and Allisha Gray made it happen with timely defensive stops against France in the semifinals and a combination of dominating the glass and getting to the free-throw line in the final versus the ROC.
It was a tad different than the United States’ convincing 17-10 win over France in the preliminary round, but the end result was the same. The U.S. relied on key defensive stops and knocked down enough of its free throws to escape with an 18-16 semifinal win over France. Here are the highlights from that barnburner.
“It took everything – getting defensive stops and executing on the offensive end,” Jackie Young explained. “We missed some free throws at the end, down the stretch, but we got them in the bonus kind of early, so that worked on our side. So, we at least hit one out of the two free throws. But I think the biggest thing was just getting stops on defense.”
Ana Maria Filip led all players with an impressive double-five of eight points and nine rebounds (A double-five is a 3x3 statistic akin to a double-double where a player records at least five in two of the following categories: points, rebounds, and highlights). Gray and Plum led the U.S. with six points apiece; Stefanie Dolson also recorded a double-five with five points and eight rebounds.
In the gold-medal game, the United States jumped out to a 12-5 lead with 3:53 remaining. The ROC then executed a beautiful set piece following a Stefanie Dolson free throw, leading to a Yulia Kozik two-pointer and propelling the ROC on a 4-0 run.
The two teams traded buckets over the next minute, ending with an Evgeniia Frolkina fadeaway jumper that made the tally 15-12 in favor of the U.S. with 1:59 on the clock. However, the ROC committed a costly tenth team foul against Stefanie Dolson on the subsequent possession, which gave the U.S. two free throws plus possession of the ball (see below for further discussion regarding this penalty). Foul trouble plagued the ROC all day long, resulting in eight U.S. free throw attempts in the final 4:14. Dolson calmly knocked down both free throws to extend the lead to 17-12, and the U.S. held on down the stretch to win 18-15 and capture the first Olympic gold medal in 3x3 basketball. Here are the highlights from that historic win.
Dolson, who finished with nine points and seven rebounds, compiled her second consecutive double-five performance. The U.S. countered the aforementioned turnover deficit by outrebounding a physical ROC squad 21-11.
Dolson commented on the challenge of facing such a physical opponent: “They were really strong. I mean, we knew going into it that Russia was one of the strongest, physically, teams here. They battled. They doubled. But thankfully, my teammates were able to make a lot of plays. We got them in foul trouble early. But the physicality of 3x3 in general is just unlike any other game, but it kind of makes it fun.”
Plum, Dolson, Gray, and Young all seemed to agree that this ranks near or at the top of the list of the accomplishments in their illustrious careers.
"An (Olympic) gold medal, that’s like top tier of my career," said Gray. "I think the only way to top this is to win another gold medal.”
We look forward to that, Allisha.
Three takeaways from the inaugural 3x3 Olympic event
The WNBA needs to capitalize on the success of 3x3’s Olympic debut
There’s precedent for this. In fact, it’s part of the league’s origin story. The gold medal-winning 1996 U.S. Olympic Team generated enthusiasm for women’s basketball helping the WNBA get off the ground during its inaugural season.
While the circumstances are currently different (continuing the growth of an established league vs. getting the league off the ground 25 years ago), the overarching concept is the same - parlay interest from global exposure into growing women’s basketball. The concept of an in-season WNBA 3x3 competition recently floated by Deadspin’s Jesse Spector accomplishes this in two distinct ways. It creates stars out of players who might otherwise not garner as much publicity during 5x5 competition. Casual basketball fans know of Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird but probably were a bit fuzzier on, say, Stefanie Dolson’s contributions in the W. That likely changed following Team USA’s 3x3 gold medal run last week. It also broadens the fan base by attracting viewers who prefer the unique style offered by 3x3 basketball.
WNBA, you’ve done this before. For the sake of your fans and your financial bottom line, please do it again.
Are the 7 and 10-foul penalties overly punitive?
If a team accumulates seven fouls in a 3x3 game, the opposing team heads to the free-throw line for two shots. If a team racks up 10 fouls, the opposition shoots two free throws and retains possession of the ball. Those are massive penalties in a competition where field goals inside the arc count for one point and shots behind the arc count for two. Do they make sense, or would a small adjustment improve the game?
I really struggled with this one, but a few factors swayed me over to the status quo camp. First, seven fouls are an awful lot in a contest that lasts 10 minutes (the length of a single 5x5 quarter) and where officials allow more physicality than the traditional 5x5 game. Second, the core of 3x3 basketball’s appeal is its fast-paced, near-continuous motion. Fouls, particularly a barrage of last-minute fouls, disrupt this exciting tempo. Therefore, punitive penalties for excessive fouling are perfectly in line with the spirit of the 3x3 game.
What’s the deal with 2-point shooting?
No, that’s not the opening line of a Jerry Seinfeld-style joke. It’s an observation that shooting from behind the arc (i.e., 2-point shots in 3x3 parlance) seemed a bit, well, off. I thought this was the recency effect at play, with the United States’ subpar shooting in the semifinal and gold-medal contests unduly influencing my perception of their performance from long range. So, I took a closer look at the United States’ nine Olympic games, their six Olympic qualifying games, and other countries’ FIBA qualifying and Olympic games.
No 3x3 Olympic team knocked down more than one-third of its shots behind the arc, and three-quarters of the field failed to eclipse the 30% threshold. For reference, the WNBA average from long distance this season is 34.3%. If we include games from the four Olympic teams (United States, Japan, Italy, and France) who participated in the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Japan’s rate of made two-pointers increases to 34.0%. The United States, Italy, and France remain comfortably below 30%. Based on the number of 2-point shots each U.S. player took during 3x3 competition (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament plus Olympics) combined with their career WNBA three-point shooting percentage, the United States would have been expected to hit 35.6% of its 3x3 two-point shots. The 20 teams who participated in FIBA Olympic qualifying combined to knock down 29.0% of their shots from behind the arc.
What can we make of this? To be sure, the Olympic sample size of long-distance shots is barely a tenth of the WNBA (647 vs. 5,118), so this might just be noise. Perhaps WNBA players, as a group, are inherently better long-distance shooters than the Olympic 3x3 athletes. Then again, maybe it’s something intrinsic about the 3x3 game as compared to traditional 5x5 basketball. The adjustment to outdoor shooting in the 3x3 game (e.g., different backdrop, wind, etc.) could have an impact. Also, defenses in 3x3 basketball have to guard their opposition for a maximum of 12 seconds, whereas players in the W need to play half-court defense for at least 16 seconds, creating more of an opportunity for defensive lapses and open long-distance shots in 5x5 basketball. Given the importance of the two-point shot to 3x3 basketball, it will be interesting to see if efficiency from deep improves in the future.
Her Hoop Stats content in case you missed it
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For the Hartford Courant, Alexa Philippou chronicled the obstacles Stefanie Dolson overcame to capture Olympic gold.
Brittney Griner departed the WNBA bubble last season due in large part to mental health concerns. For ESPN, Mechelle Voepel covered how Griner reflected on this experience as she expressed empathy for Simone Biles’ decision to withdraw from the gymnastics team competition.
For Essence, Brittney Oliver detailed Renee Montgomery’s remarkable transition from WNBA player to co-owner of the Atlanta Dream and what Montgomery’s story means for the future of Black women in the sports industry.
For Just Women’s Sports, Lyndsey D’Arcangelo wrote about Ariel Atkins’ journey from averaging 3.2 points per game as a freshman at Duncanville High School to U.S. Olympian and the strong support system she has developed along the way.
Erica Ogwumike found quite an impressive way to spend the summer between her first and second years of medical school: she’s playing for the Nigerian national team. Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times explained how Ogwumike has managed to balance her medical school demands with her commitment to Team Nigeria.
Women’s professional basketball trivia question of the week
Just four of the 12 players from the 1996 U.S. Olympic team played in the inaugural WNBA season (the remaining eight opted for the rival American Basketball League). Heavily featured in early ad campaigns for the W, Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, and Rebecca Lobo are three of the four. Who is the fourth player?
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