Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette and the rest of the US men’s 3x3 basketball team hoped to secure their first win of the 2024 Paris Olympics Thursday, but came up empty yet again. However, due to an early injury, Team USA stays at last place in the standings with zero wins.
Fredette’s Olympic journey took an unexpected turn before USA’s first game of the day against Lithuania. After painfully limping out of the tunnel, he started and ended the game on the bench.
Fredette announced he was game-to-game with his lower-left leg injury, which occurred with three minutes to go in their game against Poland on Wednesday. He ended up coaching his three teammates, Canyon Barry, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis, for the entirety of the Lithuania game.
Without Fredette, Barry, Maddox and Travis competed with no substitute. Despite their impressive performance, especially without breaks, Team USA lost 20-18.
Four hours later, Fredette was still unable to play with his teammates against Latvia. While all three players had an impressive game, they lost another narrow game, 21-19. Latvia is now 4-0 and first in the standings, the only team with zero losses.
Barry was the leader in points scored for both games, with nine points against Lithuania and 10 against Latvia. Travis recorded seven rebounds against Lithuania, and Maddox recorded five against Latvia.
Team USA is currently last in the rankings, the only team that has lost every game it’s played. Below are the current team standings:
- Latvia – 4-0
- Serbia – 3-1
- France – 2-2
- Lithuania – 2-2
- Netherlands – 2-2
- Poland – 2-2
- China – 1-3
- United States – 0-4
The team’s path past pool play is looking less likely, but they still have a chance to turn the tide. The last two teams in the standings will be eliminated after pool play is over, so Team USA must win all three of their remaining pool play games in order to potentially land a spot in the tournament.