Olympic gold medalist Allisha Gray hopes to be part of US 3×3 team in Paris Games.

BRISTOL, MASS. — With an eye toward competing for USA Basketball in the summer Olympics in Paris, Allisha Gray is happy to be back on the 3×3 squad.
She is the only member of the quartet that won gold at the Tokyo Games three years prior to return. That marked the sport’s first-ever Olympic debut.

“It was amazing to be the first team to do it and to be in the Olympics for the first time,” Gray remarked. “It feels wonderful to be back and settle back into the routine.”

Gray was one of eight players chosen from the weekend’s 15-person training camp to take part in a 3×3 competition at The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. She plays with Cameron Brink, Dearica Hamby, and Linnae Harper on a team.

America’s victory in the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup was aided by Brink and Harper. In the same year that she won the gold in the Women’s AmeriCup, Hamby made her 3×3 debut.

Hailey Van Lith, Lexie Hull, Rhyne Howard, and Cierra Burdick are on the other American team competing in the tournament. Van Lith and Burdick were both on that World Cup squad the previous year. Howard, who only participated in the 2019 USA Basketball nationals, has the least amount of 3×3 experience. She competes for her country in the 5-on-5 Olympic pool.

“I feel that 3×3 is more personal and it really puts a strain on your patience because you have to consider what you’re doing to look good,” Howard remarked. “You have to create a lot for yourself because there aren’t many people to help you get open.”

Hull started competing in the 3×3 in 2016 and won medals in the event in 2022 and 2023.

“The fact that some women have dedicated four years to this game makes it difficult,” the woman remarked. Both the American and their own points have been earned by them. Not all of them will be able to compete in the Olympics, but they have done all the preparation work and set the stage for us to be able to. We made an effort to let them know that they are a valuable part of the process and that you will do everything in your power to keep them around.

The first team to score 21 points or to lead at the conclusion of ten minutes wins the 3×3 game, which is played on a half court with a 12-second shot clock. Shots made outside the arc are worth two points, while baskets made inside it are worth one.

In May of last year, USA Basketball had a 3×3 camp, according to Rizzotti, where many college players who were new to the game participated. She’s noticed significant progress from them.

“It’s remarkable that they’ve picked things up in such a short period of time and with so few playing repetitions,” she remarked. made us truly have a competitive camp, which wasn’t something I had anticipated.