COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (Sept. 3, 2024) - USA Basketball announced today the teams set to compete at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup Sept. 11-15 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The USA men look to defend their 2023 title, while the women look to return to the podium for the second time in the event’s five-year history (silver, 2022).
The men’s team features three NBA G League players and one recent college graduate while the women's team features three NCAA Division I athletes and one international professional.
The 2024 USA 3x3 U23 Men’s National Team includes John Butler Jr., Alex Fudge, David Johnson and Jameer Nelson Jr. The team will be led by head coach Jimmy Smith (Trinity University), who made his USA Basketball coaching debut last year at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 U21 Nations League Asia-Pacific Conference.
The 2024 USA 3x3 U23 Women’s National Team includes Azana Baines (Sedis Cadi La Seu, Spain), Sania Feagin (University of South Carolina), Cotie McMahon (Ohio State University) and Harmoni Turner (Harvard University). Head coach Christina Batastini (St. Andrew’s School, RI) more recently led the 2024 USA 3x3 U23 Women’s Nations League Team to an 18-0 record at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League Americas Conference in July.
All four men’s players will make their USA Basketball competitive debuts in Mongolia. Johnson is the only athlete with previous USA experience, having participated in a 5-on-5 junior national team minicamp in 2017.
On the women’s side, Baines, Feagin and McMahon have previous USA experience (5-on-5, 3x3) while Turner will participate with USA Basketball for the first time. Baines’ 3x3 career began last year when she competed at both the FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League Americas Conference and Nations League Final as well as on the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series. Earlier this year, she participated in the 2024 USA 3x3 National Team Trials. McMahon made her 3x3 debut at the 2024 U23 Nations League Americas Conference and has a pair of 5-on-5 gold medals from the 2022 FIBA U18 AmeriCup and 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup. Feagin is a 2021 FIBA U19 champion.
The USA men will begin Pool D competition on Sept. 11, vs. Chile at 11:15 p.m. ET and continue vs. Lithuania at 3:40 a.m. ET on Sept. 12. Pool play wraps up Sept. 13 vs. Kenya at 11:15 p.m. and vs. Latvia Sept. 14 at 1:05 a.m.
The USA women will open Pool B play on Sept. 12 vs. Japan and Italy at 5:45 a.m. and 7:35 a.m. ET, respectively. Pool play concludes on Sept. 14 vs. Spain at 5:45 a.m. and New Zealand at 7:35 a.m. ET.
Following pool play, the top two teams from each of the four five-team pools will move on to the quarterfinals.
The 2024 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup will stream live on YouTube at www.youtube.com/fiba3x3.
Launched in 2018, the men’s and women’s FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup pits the best under-23 3x3 talent against one another to fight for a chance at winning gold. 2024 will be the fifth edition of the event since its inception. Teams qualified through their national federations position in the 3x3 Federation Ranking after Nov. 1, 2023, or based on their finish at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League earlier this summer. For more information on the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup, click here.
Different than 5-on-5, 3x3 is played on a half-court with a 10-minute game clock and 12-second shot clock. Play is continuous, as teams “clear” the ball behind the 2-point line following a made basketball, defensive rebound or steal. The first team to score 21 points via 1-pointer field goals or 2-pointers behind the arc is victorious; or if time expires then the team leading wins.