Fabian Giessmann (20 years old)

The German Next-Gen Unicorn. One of Germany's most electric young prospects. Standing at 207 cm (6'9"), he brings modern length and ball skills that completely break typical half-court defensive coverage. Unlike traditional big men who specialize late, Giessmann’s early 3x3 mileage has given him advanced perimeter comfort. He has delivered MVP performances and gold medals at the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup 2023 and U23 World Cup 2024, powering Germany to historic youth titles.

Denzel Agyeman (21)

The Versatile Plug-and-Play Weapon. At 195 cm (6'5"), Agyeman plays significantly bigger than his listed height due to exceptional lower-body strength and lateral agility. Athletic, energetic, and competitive on both ends. He contributed to Germany’s U23 World Cup success alongside Giessmann and has already delivered MVP-level performances in World Tour and Challenger events.

Vuk Vukićević (22)

The Serbian Academy Graduate. At 192cm (6'4"), he is a tactical Swiss Army knife who recently represented the powerhouse Serbian U23 National Team, taking home a silver medal at the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup. Vukićević boasts the classic physical fundamentals—tight shooting mechanics, precise footwork, and a masterclass orientation on the court. In October 2025, Vukićević hit the ultimate developmental milestone by suiting up with world #1 team Ub to win the Shenzhen Masters.

Miloš Cvrkota (22)

The Board Cleaner. A towering 200 cm (6’7”) forward possesses the physical frame of an old-school European forward matched with the modern perimeter defensive traits. Physical presence and competitiveness translate to plenty of offensive rebounds. Part of Serbia’s coordinated 3x3 development group alongside peers like Vukićević. His 5x5 background is already impressive.

Dulguun Gankhuyag (23)

The Mongolian Frontcourt Pioneer. Standing at 201 cm(6'7"), he routinely represents Mongolia on the greatest stages, bringing size and athleticism inside. Played in American college and Mongolian 5x5 national team. Strong defender capable to neutralize larger opponents.

Rokas Jocys (22)

The Lithuanian Elite Sniper. Standing 196 cm(6'5"), he is a pure offensive mastermind. He has delivered clutch performances, including game-winning shots for Lithuania in youth World Cups. Sharp shooting and poise under pressure. Spent some time in NCAA, where he honed his perimeter defense against elite American athletic profiles.

It would be pretty cool to see those six players face off in a 3-on-3 game, don’t you think?

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While Victor stretches the boundaries of the NBA, Eve is a certified force on the FIBA 3x3 court.

She represented France on the international youth stage (winning gold at the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship in 5x5) before seamlessly transitioning her physical style into a weapon for the high-intensity half-court game.

We first heard about her when she was still playing in the U21 category.

Later, we had the privilege of watching her live during the U23 World Cup in Poland:

Today Eve is a seasoned elite competitor on the half-court. Standing at 185 cm (6'1"), her size, mobility, and versatility make her an ideal fit for the fast-paced, physical demands of 3x3 basketball. She has regularly represented France on the international stage, anchoring teams with her defensive paint presence and scoring efficiency. She has suited up for France during FIBA3x3 Champions Cup and Women’s Series 2025 season including stops in Edmonton, Marseille, and Bucharest. It’s definitely worth seeing her in action:

After starting her 25/26 5x5 season putting up monster numbers (15.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG) for Peja 03 in Kosovo and competing in the EuroCup, she officially signed with Zagłębie Sosnowiec in Poland’s top-tier league. Across 11 domestic league appearances in Poland, Eve carved out a significant role, averaging 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting a highly efficient 52.4% from inside the arc.

Interestingly, Eve's move to Sosnowiec meant both Wembanyama siblings spent their seasons playing alongside high-profile Polish talent—Victor sharing the floor with Jeremi Sochan in San Antonio, and Eve holding down the paint in the Polish domestic league.

Both Wembys also have a younger brother, 19-year-old Oscar—who plays basketball, obviously.

We haven’t seen him play 3x3 yet, though. Don’t be shy, Oscar—it’s a lot of fun! Join your sister!

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The FIBA 3x3 World Tour has traveled from Asia to Europe and, for the first time in history, made a stop in the beautiful Croatian city of Zadar.

The pools are as follows; we have highlighted the teams that we believe will advance to the playoffs.

Pool A: Ub (SRB), Toronto (CAN), Baskets Bonn (GER)
Pool B: Miami (USA), Vienna (AUT), Fuengirola (ESP)
Pool C: Liman (SRB), Antwerp (BEL), Cibona (CRO)
Pool D: Amsterdam RABOBANK (NED), Shanghai (CHN), Qualifier

The roster of this season’s breakout team—Liman—looks intriguing. They might be a few centimeters short in height... but they can definitely make up for it with their biceps width. The home team from Cibona is a big unknown, especially since they’ll have the crowd on their side. Amsterdam, Miami will be strong as usual and Fuengirola is ready to play at the highest level, too.

Later on, as is often the case in 3x3 basketball, anything can happen, of course. However, we expect one of the teams from Group A to make it to the final. We wouldn’t be surprised if Bonn beat Ub in the group stage and the final turned into a rematch—that’s happened before.

One thing we know for sure—it’s going to be a great tournament!

Why is it worth following the BIG3 league?

Last season, an animal talent was enough to win the title. We believe this is only possible in this league. And that’s cool.

This whole Ice Cube’s project isn’t just about sports, entertainment, and cheering… it’s also about memories, nostalgia, and a bit of therapy. We’d bet that winning the BIG3 league championship is worth more than 100 sessions with a psychotherapist, wouldn’t you agree?

Last season’s finale turned into a one-man show. A man who had hit rock bottom. There’s not a single word of exaggeration in that—for several months, Michael Beasley was a wreck of a man, a homeless person sleeping in his car. And we’re talking about one of the NBA’s greatest talents, selected second overall in the 2008 draft by the Miami Heat! The guy went through hell and came back to basketball. And now, for the moment, he’s in heaven. If saving him were to be Ice Cube’s only success related to creating the 3×3 league, it would have been worth it.

Even if you haven’t watched the entire eighth season—watch the finale at least:

Yes, B-Easy is definitely a good candidate to have his own “What Could Have Been” article to be written by .

And this is just one of the many fascinating human stories that BIG3 is full of…

Anyway, here is the plan for the 2026 season:

There’s already big money in the BIG3: the prize for the winners is a cool million dollars, and the games are watched by as many as a million fans at times! The league’s sport level is rising and driving up the financial stakes—or perhaps it’s the other way around? In any case, it was another year of undeniable progress.

Last season, the BIG3 league averaged 546,000 viewers on CBS, an 8% increase compared to the same period last year (506,000). Last weekend’s games in Boston drew 588,000 viewers (+13% year-over-year). The league also reported an 85% increase in viewership for full game replays offered for free on YouTube.

That’s one of the reasons why the two subjects of this article—FIBA3x3 and BIG3—don’t like each other, even though we love both of them. But that’s a topic for a completely separate post...

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None of them was an easy win. In China both the final against Germany…

and the semifinal against our beloved Poland…

…could have ended differently. That’s the beauty of 3x3. We think that more than answers the question in the title, doesn’t it?

The final game in the Philippines was even more dramatic and ended in overtime:

Can we already call it dominance? Definitely not! In Chengdu, four of the U.S. team’s five games were decided by a single possession. In Manila, the American women played a total of seven games, winning all of them (excluding the final) by a wide margin. However, it is far too early to draw any long-term conclusions from this... But let’s start from the beginning.

What exactly is the Women’s Series?

The format was established in May 2019, to offer women a chance to play 3x3 at the highest level on a regular basis.

From the very beginning, FIBA 3x3 has emphasized gender equality. There are no less prestigious tournaments for women, the refereeing staff is evenly split between the two genders, and the pay gap is significantly smaller than in other basketball leagues, though it still exists.

For example, the prize money for winning a men’s World Tour event is typically $40,000 (for the entire team). The corresponding prize money for winning a Women’s Series event is $14,000.

Women’s Series tournaments are not different from World Tour ones: usually two-day events with a main draw of 12 teams and up to 2 qualification draws. They are played as a series of “stops” around the world and a WS Final. Here is the full 2026 schedule:

If you need more details about rules, format, and so on, the official Women’s Series 2026 Handbook is definitely a good starting point.

FIBA3x3 Women’s Series is becoming more and more popular. In the 2025 season, the average event had 2.4 million social media views (+14% compared to 2024), 273K+ engagements (+102%) and 5.8 million reach (+132%). Didn’t we say that 3x3 basketball is the fastest-growing sport in the world?

Historically

So far, the winners were decided mainly between European and Canadian teams. To say that the U.S. team wasn’t among the top contenders is an understatement. History shows that Canada and France are by far the best teams to have competed in the series:

You’re probably wondering what this means for major 3x3 events, such as the upcoming 2026 World Cup?

Women’s Series vs World Cup

And here’s where we’ll surprise you—it doesn’t really mean much. If you compare the table of Women’s Series winners above with the list of Women’s World Cup winners below, there is virtually no correlation.

Why is that the case—or rather, why was that the case? One reason was certainly the lack of U.S. involvement in the Women’s Series. The American women simply fielded their best lineup for the season’s most important tournaments—the World Championships or the Olympics and... they usually made it to the podium.

This year, however, the correlation may appear. The U.S. has seriously kicked off the Women’s Series, likely viewing it as a great opportunity to prepare for the season’s most important event—the World Cup in Warsaw (just three weeks away!).

Time will tell. For now, though, it’s clear who the top favorite is for the World Cup, at least in the women’s division. Which of you is going to Poland to watch the season’s biggest tournament live?

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1. Killer - Filip Kaluđerović (Ub)

Chengdu Masters MVP - it speaks for itself. 31 years old, 192 cm tall shooter from Serbia, played for Hangzhou past season. He’s fit right in with a team made up entirely of champions. He’s stepped into the shoes of Dejan “Maestro” Majstorovic and complements the team’s other star striker, Strahinja Stojacic, perfectly. He made 40% of his 2s in China, grabbing majority of offensive rebounds after his own distant misses. That’s how he beat another player from this list in the semifinal:

2. Semi Truck - Dorde Simeunovic (Liman)

World Tour leading scorer as of today (total points). 29 years old, 200 cm tall all around player from Serbia, played for Taipei past season. Two Masters finals in a row and crazy stats: 73% inside the arc, 39% from the outside, 86% from free throw line. 100+ kg of muscles and shooting guard touch, almost impossible to move defending under the basket. Yes, you should start to be afraid. Both above mentioned players clashed during fantastic, classic 3x3 Serbian final in Chengdu, must see game:

3. Robin - Nauris Miezis (Ulaanbaatar)

Olympic Champion, 35 years old, 190 cm tall slasher from Latvia, played for Chongming past season. This man is already a legend, check this YouTube playlist dedicated entirely to him (not a single mixtape - playlist - mixtape video would be probably few hours long). One of the best handles in FIBA3x3 history. Two weeks ago we wrote about him and his new team, Ulaanbaatar…

The only things missing were a bit of finesse, a player who could create his own shot out of nothing, and a true clutch player who makes the most important shots. Now they’ve got it all in one person - Nauris Miezis, Olympic Champion. To say that this might work well is a massive understatement.

… and still, looks like it was a massive understatement. Miezis averaged 8,5 points and 2,8 assists per game, shooting 67% inside and 39% outside and basically did whatever was needed:

4. Vonni - Jevonnie Scott (Shinagawa)

25 years old, 200 cm tall forward from Canada, played for Ishikawa past season. One man army with both animal energy and soft touch. 11 points per game in Chengdu, 83% percent inside the arc, 3/6 from outside. Here you can see him in action against… Miezis:

Number 5 is open for discussion. Who should be added to the list, in your opinion? We would love to see some youngsters here!

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A story that will make the entire 3x3 basketball family stronger

Moments like these remain in the community’s collective memory forever. Let’s make sure this one has been properly documented.

Leon Fertig’s injury

The sight of a young athlete screaming in pain in the middle of the field, with his leg twisted at an unnatural angle, is an terrifying image. We intentionally do not put the screenshot here. You can easily find this fragment on YouTube, but believe us, you don’t want to do it.

IT WAS DEVASTATING, obviously for Leon himself, his teammates and the spectators, both on-site and on-line. Players from both teams (Raundondvaris and Skyliners) had to complete the last minute of the game with tears in their eyes. Clearly nobody cared about the final result at this moment.

Leon’s teammates won and advanced to semifinal.

But that was just a rough start to a very positive story!

The three remaining Skyliners players took the court to play in the semifinal game against Antwerp. And to win it for their teammate. Leon’s jersey was hanging on the bench. Stefan Kojic, Kevin Bryant, and Niklas Kropp were determined to win it for their friend, sending a message of encouragement through the screen:

And they won!

But that’s only part of the story. The flood of support and love that has poured in for Leon was incredible. The entire community - from the official FIBA3x3 channels to players from other teams, commentators, and fans - did exactly what they should have done at that moment, in the best possible way. If even a small part of this support has reached Leon, he’ll be back in top form in no time.

In the final, the trio from Frankfurt was slightly weaker than the quartet from Liman. Congrats to both teams, it wa s great game!

But that’s not the end of this story. This is how it will actually finish, which is sure to happen: in a few months, Leon Fertig will be playing streetball at the highest level again!

Stay strong, young man, and don’t lose faith for a second. See you on the court soon! <3

Other observations from Japan

We’ve already talked about the sport (Liman showed his strength!) and moral winners – let’s focus a bit on the other, less obvious heroes of the tournament.

Slim Reaper

James Parrott is the most physically gifted player who ever played 3x3. His talent is off the charts - long arms, speed, jumping, soft touch - its a poetry to see him on the court when he is in the flow. Period.

No Pukelis = no Raudondvaris

Talking about gifted ones - size matters - and the one of the biggest 3x3 players, Aurelijus Pukelis wasn’t present in Japan this weekend. The result: only 11 points in their first game against Liman (lost) , 15 against Taipei (won) and 14 against Skyliners (see above). Lithuanians ofense simply doesn’t work without him being a threat both inside and outside (he can shot twos!).

LSD - Lefthanded Super Duo - Lasmanis & Forte

They took Shanghai to quarterfinal scoring 26 out of 37 team total points in the pool phase and their connection and communication on the floor from time to time reminded us Stockton & Malone (yes, one of us is so old).

Playmaker Stefan Kojic

Kojic had 7 assist (and only 2 turnovers) in first two group games, both won by Frankfurt Skyliners. Most people recognise him as a very good shooter, especially in the clutch (later on he started to score, too), but this time he showed the full package:

That’s all for now, it was very emotional weekend. Let’s have a short break before Chengdu Masters.

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Here are the teams and players we think are the most interesting to watch in 2026.

The Spaniards

Streetball is returning to Europe, with three Pro Tour tournaments set to take place in Spain. The current world champions also have three excellent teams: Fuengirola, Barcelona and Valencia - with Iván the Destroyer (copyright to ) Aurrecoechea in their roster:

None of these teams is in top 10 now, but we bet at least one of them will be there at the end of the season.

The Yankees

Miami has chosen evolution over revolution. Their latest addition to the roster - Riley Battin - seems to be the last, missing piece. And they definitely know how to play against the team mentioned above:

The Mongolians and one Latvian

Has the team from Ulaanbaatar also found the missing puzzle? We think so! They’ve always had strength, stamina, fighting spirit, and a great coach - Steve Sir. The only things missing were a bit of finesse, a player who could create his own shot out of nothing, and a true clutch player who makes the most important shots. Now they’ve got it all in one person - Nauris Miezis, Olympic Champion. To say that this might work well is a massive understatement.

The Driessens

Another Olympic Champion - Jan Driessen - is one of a few players making progress each year. We expect him to continue and hit a lot of twos in 2026. This is also true for his sister - Noortje. She will not play in World Tour of course, but even without her Amsterdam will be a deadly strong team, again.

ABG Trio - Agyeman, Beikame, Giessmann

Young Germans may reach their peak this year. Their experience from playing together for many seasons should pay off. They’ve seen it all. They’re probably the hungriest team in the entire field. This could be Fabian’s season!

The “Canadians”

Last but not least, a very interesting, extremely international band has formed in Toronto. The team includes a Swiss player, a Belgian, a Dominican, a Mexican, and (fortunately) two Canadians. The two most recognizable players are Thibaut Vervoort and the main character of this beautiful, newly released film - Westher Molteni. You have to check this out!

And yes, we need one too. One more World Tour season :) Let the fun begin again!

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The agreement covers the biggest basketball events, but... it doesn’t even mention 3x3 basketball. Very surprising decision, given that the upcoming 3x3 World Cup will be held in Warsaw, which is also the headquarters of the sponsor in question—XTB!

Why isn’t the partnership with FIBA 3x3 part of this deal? The only explanation we have is that this particular sponsor doesn’t want to reach young people. Which is somewhat understandable in the case of a financial broker—young people don’t complain about having too much cash. The money is usually in their parents’ pockets.

Perhaps this is a well-thought-out move, or perhaps it’s short-sighted. One thing is sure—3x3 basketball is the sport of the future:

So the questions are: What did FIBA 3x3 do to secure this sponsor? Was XTB misinformed, or is it simply not interested?

And who loses the most? The sponsor or 3x3 basketball? It’s clear that the fans have already lost out on this.

Would love to hear a comment from the best marketing expert in 3x3 and best 3x3 player in marketing. What’s your view on this ?

We might be totally wrong, but it seems that for what was likely a small fee attached to that huge contract, we could have had the XTB World Cup in Warsaw instead of just the World Cup… Isn’t it one of the biggest lost opportunities you have heard about?

To be completely fair, we believe it’s a good deal for XTB: strong fit, cost-efficient within their aggressive growth playbook, and high-upside for brand and client acquisition. The contract is likely worth $10–18 million USD total in rights fees paid by XTB to FIBA.

BTW: The World Cup pools has been announced (but we still don’t know the rosters) - it’s time to get back to streetball! Enough about business, at least for now.

Next article will focus 100% on the game, we promise!

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Kyle is the 6’1” tall (185 cm), sharpshooting guard who helped Virginia win the 2019 NCAA title as a junior. He earned Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors (!), and became a fan favourite for his clutch play and smooth shot. For these of you, who are not really into NCAA: Guy earned it after leading Virginia to the national championship — he averaged 20+ points in the Final Four and hit several massive shots, including the game-winner against Purdue in the Elite Eight. MOP is the college basketball equivalent of a Final Four MVP on steroids.

Drafted 55th overall by the Knicks in 2019 (landed with Sacramento), the Indianapolis native bounced around the NBA for a few seasons with the Kings and Heat, knocking down threes off the bench.

He looked a little different back then:

After his NBA run wrapped up in 2022, Kyle Guy headed overseas for two solid seasons. He played in Spain for Joventut Badalona (2022–23), then split time between Greece (Panathinaikos) and Spain again (La Laguna Tenerife/CB Canarias in 2023–24), where he put up some of his best pro numbers as a scorer and shooter.

At age 26, he decided to retire from playing in the summer of 2024 (!). He returned to his alma mater Virginia as an Athlete Development Mentor/Special Assistant, finished his degree, and dipped his toes into coaching.

But the competitive fire wasn’t fully out — he came out of retirement in late 2025 to join the Noblesville Boom (G League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers), showing that he still got it, just take a look!

And now we have him in our beloved territory - 3x3 basketball:

If you haven’t noticed the similarities between him and Jimmer Fredette yet, here are the most obvious ones:

• Both are undersized guards (around 6’1”–6’2”) known for their pure shooting strokes and ability to score in bunches. Offensively gifted with deep range and the ability to create their own shot off the dribble or catch-and-shoot. Defensively challenged, which limited their pro minutes.

• Both became March Madness legends. Jimmer had “Jimmer Mania” with logo threes and massive scoring outbursts. Jimmer was the 2011 NCAA scoring leader (28.9 PPG) and National Player of the Year. Kyle was a clutch performer who averaged over 20 PPG in the 2019 Final Four and won Tournament Most Outstanding Player while leading Virginia to the title.

• Both were drafted (Jimmer 10th overall in 2011, Kyle 55th in 2019) and landed with the Sacramento Kings. They had limited roles as bench shooters in the NBA due to size, defense, and athleticism limitations, then bounced around or went overseas.

• Both explored European basketball, had brief retirements/coaching stints, and showed they couldn’t fully walk away from competitive hoops (including 3x3 now!). Fun fact: Jimmer played for Phoenix (Suns) too :).

Is that enough? We don’t know about you, but we can’t wait to see Kyle on the World Tour and (perhaps) on the US national team!

His predecessor was unlucky in 3x3 - his dreams of an Olympic medal were dashed by an injury, and his shot for the world championship went in… and then bounced out of the rim:

But it is now history, version 1.0… This time it can be totally different.

Good luck, Kyle! Welcome to the 3x3 basketball family. See you at the tournaments!

P.S. This is just one of the changes to the World Tour teams at the start of the 2026 season. You can find a great summary in Bas Rozendaal’s post - while we focused on March Madness heroes, he took a step further to explore next month:

3X3 Thoughts

April Madness: Roster Chaos Hits the 3x3 World

So, we’re finally through the April 1st validation deadline, and we’ve got a much clearer picture of the top 40 teams on FIBA 3x3. Just in time for the PRO Circuit opener: A Challenger in China on April 11 and 12…

Read more

2 months ago · 3 likes · 1 comment · Bas Rozendaal

Teams to watch

As is usual for Asia, it will be a massive tournament—featuring 22 men’s teams and 21 women’s teams. The first two days are the qualifying round for the main tournament; after that, we’re in for a real treat with three days of competition featuring the top 12 teams in both the men’s and women’s categories. We already know the first eight teams in the main phase.

In the men’s competition, they are:

1. Mongolia

2. China

3. Japan

4. New Zealand

5. Qatar

6. Singapore

7. Australia

8. Chinese Taipei

The top eight women’s teams are as follows:

1. China

2. Mongolia

3. Japan

4. Australia

5. Philippines

6. Singapore

7. New Zealand

8. Thailand

We think the women’s team from Kazakhstan and the men’s teams from Thailand should also make it to the main draw. It’s a real shame we won’t be seeing the Iranian teams, but we all know why that is... We’re always curious to watch the team from the world’s most populous country—India—even though they don’t always play at the highest level.

Players to watch

We’ve selected two gentlemen and two ladies whom everyone would be ashamed not to know.

Ryo Ozawa - a man who has already made history after scoring 20 points in a single game at the same event a year ago:

Dillon Stith - a dominant athlete, playing under and above the rim:

Fuyuko Takahashi - seem to be everywhere on the court, incredibly fast, and giving it her all, usually the crowd’s favourite:

Khulan Onolbaatar - the cutest clutch player in the world:

There is a chance that one of Zhangs will play an important role, too ;)

Historically…

There is only one favorite in both categories - Australia. Check out this all FIBA3x3 AsiaCups in one table:

They won 5 out of 8 tournaments, so statistically there is no other favourite men team, it’s not even close.

The same 5/8 ratio is true in women case:

By the way, FIBA3x3 created nice compilation of best moments in FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup history - definitely worth to read.

But history doesn’t have to repeat itself, does it?

From our perspective it will be extremely tough for both Australian’s teams to win, especially for women team. This year, the Asian Cup may remain on the Asian continent… Let’s see. The show starts April 1st.

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P.S. There is another substack about 3x3 basketball - Bas Rozendaal The Mountain - former player who turned to analyst and commentator and publishes very interesting facts, stats and first-row-view on most important FIBA3x3 events. We love his posts, there is a big chance you will like them, too.

A few observations…

Lithuanians started strong. Physically and skill-wise. They showed dominance in the opener against Spain, especially on defence. Limiting World Champions to 14 points is really impressive. But each game was worse than the previous one, with the culmination against Thailand…

Watch this game to see how the dream game looks. 3x3 basketball magic at its best! These are the games we live for! All of us want to have one in life like this, only a few are lucky (and good) enough to experience it:

At the beginning, the new USA team showed nothing new… but at least the federation put some more serious stuff in place. If you haven’t visited the 3x-play website yet - do not wait any longer. Good job! Winning at Champions Cup can only make it more popular! BTW, we love this motto:

Two great teams showed what makes you great in 3x3. It is passing the ball. And great team pass like this:

Pierce Brothers are great, but the player who carries the team USA is James Parrott. He plays 1on1, shoots long 2s, rebounds, assists and blocks - basically does everything that is needed exactly when it is needed. Caden Pierce played great, but MVP should go to Slim Reaper of 3x3!

The best women’s game was definitely the semi final. How often do we see the 22:20 final result?

Sandra Ygueravide was definitely the MVP of opening day in Bangkok. It is always a huge pleasure to watch her on and off the floor. We sat next to her during one of the tournaments - such a kind, calm, smiling and classy lady!

Sandra and Steve Sir - definitely our favourite players!

… and a crazy idea

We are not really sure what is the idea behind Champions Cup… probably to start a season on the highest possible level and gather (new) audience for the starting season. Which is not a bad idea!

But what do you think about adding to it (or replacing it) another event: Contenders Cup? Gathering the teams (not national teams), which are not in the top 10 of the current ranking? It potentially can address a few things at the same time:

• giving the young teams opportunity to gather extra ranking points at the beginning of the season → more chance to fresh blood in World Tour

• attract the fans even more, with the higher intensity games and new stars - younger teams are usually more hungry

• limit the cost and increase the competitiveness at the same time

Think about it, FIBA3x3. It wouldn’t be the first idea you copied from us :)

It wasn’t easy to keep up with all the events of the 2025 season... Even we couldn’t manage it ;) But we’re back now, and it’s a good feeling!

Here’s how the FIBA3x3 season looked in numbers (source: Alex Sanchez Mollinger):

🏆 17 World Tour events
💪 19 Challengers
🌍 Over 20 countries visited
🏀 66 teams and 300+ players competing at the highest level
📺 Global TV exposure in 150+ countries

This really nice video is also a great summary:

It was a really successful year for streetball, but it is worth considering together what we can do to make the next one even better... which, in our opinion, is unlikely to happen.

Signs of weakness

In 2025, a few things did not go as we would have liked. These may not be major problems, but rather early symptoms that, if addressed, will help take 3x3 to the next level... Ignoring them could have negative consequences for all of us.

Empty stands

It was sad to see empty stands during the EuroCup, as well as during some Masters tournaments. Introducing tickets (which were quite expensive in Copenhagen!) for major events in a sport that is still relatively unknown (especially in Denmark) is not a good idea in our opinion.

WorldTour as usual

Not much new blood, fewer tournaments, the same winners, who of course deserve enormous respect—the FIBA 3x3 World Tour needs something new. In the 2025 season, we hoped to see more Spaniards, Americans, and Australians in the Masters... but it ended up as always. This does not help the sport develop globally.

Plans for 2026

The situation in the Persian Gulf, which has recently been almost home to FIBA3x3 basketball, will certainly affect this year’s Pro Circuit. For now, the calendar looks much more modest than last year: 15 Masters in 2026 vs. 17 in 2026 is obviously not a tragedy, but it is a reversal of a long-standing trend:

We really hope that FIBA3x3 has not yet had its final say on this matter.

Good news

FIBA3x3 is returning to Europe, its birthplace! Zadar, Vienna, Amsterdam, Marseille, Lausanne, Debrecen, and Malaga will host World Tour tournaments, while Warsaw will host the World Cup.

And we are returning to writing... in a slightly different form (as you can see above), perhaps less regularly, but more subjectively and (we hope) more originally.

Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

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If you have nothing interesting to say…

Better stay quiet. We prefer quality over consistency. Is it better to stay consistent and publish even if you feel you have not much to write? Let us know.

Anyway, today there is only one topic worth writing about - FIBA3x3 World Tour 2025 Final Tournament in Manama. Let’s dig into it together, shall we?

Thanks for your patience to all readers, especially subscribers, you rock! If you like our work, please share it with your network. Remember, we are on X too, and our FB group is somehow growing, surprisingly!

Week Month Quarter summary - 3 surprises & 3 MVPs

Six Masters and at least three unexpected winners - London (in Deqing), Lugano (in Macau) and Skyliners (in Abu Dhabi).

Look at this Senior Financial Analyst from Nintendo (MVP) and stop making excuses for not playing streetball at semi-pro level:

The Lugano win was not such a big exception, they won two challengers this season. But their most valuable player is somebody you probably haven’t met yet. Adris De Leon - 41 years old, 181 cm tall the best streetballer in Dominican Republic:

Another Leon and another MVP. 25 years old, 187 cm tall Leon Fertig already plays as a real leader of the German team:

Skyliners also won one challenger this year, but for Londoners it was a first triumph in 2025. Well deserved and it is a pity we won’t see them in Manama.

Predictions for big FIBA3x3 World Tour 2025 final in Manama - all 3 tournament phases

Qualification draw

Local team is not going to play important role here, sorry Seef. The main game will be between two teams mentioned above: Lugano and Skyliners. And the second one is better equipped, in our opinion, to advance to the main phase.

Our pick: Skyliners

Group phase

Pool A: It will be stupid to bet against Ub, but they are known for their slow start. First game against Vienna can go both ways, but later both teams will beat Riffa, especially if Donkor is not present.

Our pick: Ub and Vienna qualify to quarterfinals.

Pool B: Finesse over physicality. Miezis, Lasmanis and Forte are simply fun to watch. The same is true for the Miami team. Two Serbian teams in play-offs is enough.

Our pick: Miami and Chongming.

Pool C: Olympic Champions won the last tournament in Debrecen, and still have the best 3x3 player in the world, always fun to watch - Worthy De Jong. Having this guy in your team is an unfair advantage:

The second bet is difficult. Partizan seems to be better (Supica!), but Lithuanians know how to prepare for important tournaments… If the 2s are falling in, the Raundondvaris will take it, but Partizan is our favourite here.

Our pick: Amsterdam and Partizan

Pool D: Youth over experience? Liman has the highest ranking, but can they weather the storm from young Toulouse and Skyliners (see above)? Lots depends on the referees - they allow for a tough, dirty, physical game, their chances will grow.

Our pick: Toulouse and Skyliners

Play-offs

Ub, Amsterdam, Miami and Chongming is our final four. In games between them everything is possible. Each team has stars, who can win the game on their own: Stojacic, De Jong, Parrott, Lasmanis and Miezis. Therefore, this is more a matter of guessing and hoping that chemistry, hard work, defense without too many fouls and years of dedication will be finally rewarded.

Our pick: The Miami team is going to win it all in our opinion, with James Parrott as a MVP. That would be the best season ending for the top3 team in almost all tournaments they played. Fingers crossed!

That’s all for this week. Hopefully, it was worth waiting for such a long time. Thanks for reading!

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Taking care of yourself is important

Remember: having good rest, eating well, exercising and reading a lot every day will make you a better 3x3 fan, player and simply a better person. Just take a look at this Hulk of a player from Serbia:

Thanks for your patience to all readers, especially subscribers, you rock! If you like our work, please share it with your network. Remember, we are on X too, and our FB group is somehow growing, surprisingly!

Interesting facts about 3x3 basketball

100% from USA, is it OK?

NBA players with 3x3 background

You may recall a few post-NBA players playing in FIBA3x3, for instance Jimmer Fredette, DeMarcus Cousins or Robbie Hummel. And hopefully much more playing in BIG3 ;). But today we want to focus on the stories from the journey in the opposite direction - from 3x3 to NBA. Here are two examples of players who certainly made a difference playing streetball:

Young Payton Pritchard (5 seasons in Boston Celtics) demolishing conyoung Polish team:

And Alfonzo McKinnie (a quarter of a season in Golden State Warriors)

It would be a great story to see them in BIG3 in the future…

Biggest streetball tournament ever - Gus Macker

The 50 years old Gus Macker Basketball Tournament is a cornerstone of 3-on-3 basketball in the United States.

It began in 1974 as a small 3-on-3 basketball event in Lowell, Michigan, organized by Scott McNeal and his brother Mitch. Starting with 18 friends and a $18 prize. McNeal, who had been nicknamed "Gus Macker" by a friend since seventh grade, used his nickname for the tournament. The event has since grown into a nationwide phenomenon, promoting teamwork, sportsmanship, and community engagement.

Have you heard about it before? The book about 3x3 we mentioned some time ago covers this story pretty well, too.

BIG3

The two biggest names and the two most talked-about contracts signed before the new season were definitely Dwight Howard joining the Los Angeles Riot and Montrezl Harrell joining the Chicago Triplets. These two powerful players faced off in a direct duel quite recently. It wasn't an even match, but you have to admit that Superman and Trez are in good shape:

If you're more into battles between fabulous technical shooters than musclemen, we've got something for you too. Two of the league's top scorers, Michael Beasley and Glen Rice Junior, faced each other in the same round. A very cool, evenly matched game, showcasing the atmosphere, level, setting, and execution of the league's games. It's truly worth watching:

FIBA 3x3 World Tour

Happy to see some fresh blood in the pro circuit and our power ranking as well.

Week Month summary

Masters in Ulaanbaatar (top3: Liman, Bonn, Ulaanbaatar) and Hong Kong (Ub, Hangzhou, Chongming) showed us two things:

1. Serbian dominance, again.

2. Nemanja Barac really can shoot from the distance.

Ah, one more - 3x3 World Tour masters looks very bad without an audience. It was a sad experience to see teams without best players playing in front of empty seats in Hong Kong.

Two challengers in France another two in Pristina and Jakarta provided some interesting insights, too.

Second Swiss team (after Lausanne) - Lugano - won the last one in style. Seems they have combined all what is needed in their roster: experience, youth, size and speed. Well deserved first win in Indonesia!

We can say the same about the second Latvian team (after Riga) - Kandava - second in Poitiers Challenger, 4th in Hong Kong Masters. Good to see Edgars Krumins back in shape again.

Also Lithuanians have the team B - Marijampole - but they didn’t convince us yet.

Anyway, you can clearly see that countries treating 3x3 seriously have at least 2 teams in professional circuit. Think about it in the context of your basketball national federation and let us know whether it passed this simple test.

#3x3PowerRanking

Top 21 teams in the world, in our opinion. Since the previous one, we added two.

Format: position, team, position change, current FIBA3x3 ranking (July 31st 2025), reason.

1. UB, -, 1, won in Hong Kong without Maestro!

2. Amsterdam, -, 3, no Worthy = no results.

3. Toulouse, -, 2, winning the challenger in France was mandatory.

4. Raudondvaris, +1, 6, only one tournament (Pristina), but 1st place.

5. Miami, -1, 4, so-so month.

6. Liman, +1, 5, great win in Ulaanbaatar.

7. Chongming, -1, 9, seems still looking for optimal rotation.

8. Hangzhou, -, 14, second place in Hong Kong.

9. Bonn, +1, 13, second place in Ulaanbaatar, another step made.

10. Partizan, +2, 12, usually top 5.

11. Vienna, -2, 8, 2nd in Orleans challenger.

12. Ulaanbaatar, +2, 10, 3rd in Mongolia, 8th in Hong Kong, good month.

13. Riffa, -2, 7, recent roster changes don’t work, yet?

14. Carolina, +5, 16, they play effective and attractive.

15. Barcelona, +1, 23, 6th in Jakarta, 9th in Poitiers.

16. Utrecht, +1, 17, 4th in Jakarta.

17. Shinagawa, +1, 22, won two 3x3.EXE tournaments.

18. Skyliners, new, 15, may end in top 10 at the end of the season.

19. London, -6, 11, didn’t play.

20. Kandava, new, 20, see chapter above.

21. Lausanne, -6, 19, took a long break.

Predictions

Edmonton Masters - we will see a lot of American streetball, that’s for sure. Three teams from USA: Miami, Phoenix and Washington DC. Last one looks most interesting, but they have the strongest group opponents.

It is difficult to bet against Ub now. We think the second finalist may come from China/Latvia (Chongming) or US (Miami).

World Cup summary

From FIBA’s perspective 3x3 World Championships 2025 were a big success. Why are these 200000 new followers still not subscribed to our newsletter? It was extremely intense for us; we watched and described all games for our Polish audience of 3x3basket.pl. After summer vacation we are finally ready for some mini retrospective:

Surprises

NOBODY expected Spaniards to win it all!

… and nobody expected Switzerland to play in the final, too:

We hope to see more and more Spanish teams in the pro circuit - they play smooth, intelligent and effective 3x3 basketball which is fun to watch.

Disappointments

The biggest negative surprise is final position (17!) of French men’s team, by far. We expected them in the final four, together with Netherlands (9) by the way.

For sure fans in the USA can be disappointed, one more time. 3x3 is still too difficult for Americans to master. They finished 5th, despite huge expectations and one of the best rosters ever.

It is also quite typical for the Serbians not being able to prove their no. 1 ranking position during the most important tournaments like Olympic Games or World Cup. Bronze medal is nice, but who expected them to finish after Spain and Switzerland?

Stars stats

Iván Aurrecoechea World Cup’s stats are crazy. He recorded 3 double 5s, and led also in 1 points shoots percentage - 80%!

Antonio Ralat was the best in shooting, averaging 10.2 points per game - he made 53% of his one-pointers, 43% of twos and 100% free throws.

Dylan Travis, one of our favourite players is like wine. He didn’t score as much as Ralat, but his shooting efficiency was unmatched in Mongolia: 64% inside arc, 56% outside, 92% from the line. Plus 10 assists, 12 rebounds in 5 games. Who wouldn’t want to have such player on their team?

That’s all for this week; hopefully it was worth waiting for a month. Thanks for reading!

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The best moment of 3x3 season is now

World Tour, Women’s Series, World Cup, BIG3 - you can watch streetball 24x7, and we certainly do! In between, we produce 3x3 superhero graphics, visualizing the biggest 3x3 stars. Introducing this week: The Maestro

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Interesting facts about 3x3 basketball

Streetball, music and movies never plays in isolation, just the opposite to the best BIG3 player.

DJ Rae Rae

Streetball and music always go together, we wrote about it some time ago. Now it’s time to make a next step and present you the music created by one of the best woman playing 3x3 - Rae Lin D’Alie:

Full interview with the creator and the story behind it.

Communities around the world

Super interesting documentary “Plena, Heart & Legacy: The Rise of 3x3 Basketball in Puerto Rico” provides a fantastic look into how 3x3 basketball has become a significant part of Puerto Rican culture and identity. Definitely worth seeing.

BIG3

Season 8 kicked off with a bang in Chicago! Joe Johnson scored 30 of his team's 50 points, and Dwight Howard got into a fight with Lance Stephenson.

Some things remain unchanged, such as the fact that Iso Joe is the best player in BIG3.

In the Detroit Amps vs. Chicago Triplets game, he scored 60% of his team's points, casually adding 10 rebounds and 3 assists. He even threw in a “four”.

We would love to see him in FIBA3x3 World Tour. He could be better than Michael Hicks.

FIBA 3x3 World Tour

Happy to see some fresh blood in pro tour and our power ranking as well.

Week summary

Vienna Masters was the most competitive tournament of the World Tour series this season. All the best teams were there.

The usual favorites won, but we also saw some new teams show their strength as they fight for their place at the top. In Vienna, both Spaniards and Germans, played really well.

But let's give credit where credit is due. The Serbs from Ub, as is their custom, started the tournament slowly, even sleepily. In their first match, against London, they were already losing 1:9 and ultimately suffered a heavy defeat at the start. However, they picked up momentum from match to match, as is their custom. Sometimes we get the impression that after all these years, they can win any* match with skill, experience, teamwork, or simply willpower - an incredible team. Playing under the guidance of a true Maestro.

*does not apply to the Olympic Games

The Spaniards proved to be a revelation not only in the qualifying round. Playing in the main tournament, they defeated the very strong Toulouse team, and Guim Expósito is definitely a name to remember.

Another star of the tournament was a German player whom you may have already heard of. If not, it's worth catching up:

Fabian Giessmann is like Shaquille O'Neal 3×3, right after entering the league. The difference is that he's great at shooting from a distance.

#3x3PowerRanking

Top 19 teams in the world, in our opinion. Since the previous one, we added two.

Format: position, team, position change, current FIBA3x3 ranking (June 18th 2025), reason.

1. UB, +2, 1, three tournaments in a row.

2. Amsterdam, -, 4, still without a win.

3. Toulouse, -2, 2, Vienna was tough and ugly for them.

4. Miami, -, 3, need a little bit more size?

5. Raudondvaris, -, 6, looks better from week to week.

6. Chongming, -, 9, took a break.

7. Liman, -, 7, resting.

8. Hangzhou, -, 16, almost there, lessons taken.

9. Vienna, -, 5, 2 losses at home by one possession, painful!

10. Bonn, new, 15, expected to reach top 5 soon.

11. Riffa, -1, 8, two games in Vienna, both lost by one point.

12. Partizan, -1, 10, bad week.

13. London, +1, 11, demolished Ub in Vienna.

14. Ulaanbaatar, -2, 12, probably training harder than ever.

15. Lausanne, -2, 14, it still doesn’t click.

16. Barcelona, new, 24, they play nice and effective streetball.

17. Utrecht, -2, 18, still looking for a synergy between great players.

18. Shinagawa, -2, 21, quiet week.

19. Carolina, -2, 17, played in the movie only (see above).

Predictions

Ulaanbaatar Masters - big chance for many teams to approach top level, as the best will be preparing for the World Cup. Teams to watch: Carolina, Bonn, Ulaanbaatar.

There won’t be a better opportunity for Riffa team to finally win something this season. If they will survive Serbian (under Chinese and Quatar flags) attacks in the group phase they may advance at least to semifinals.

However, our take is, that the winner will be decided between Bonn, Chongming and Liman.

3x3 basketball national teams

The winners of the entire 2025 FIBA3x3 season will be decided next week. Who are our candidates to win and become future stars?

Women’s Series is running on all cylinders

Two WS tournaments in one week! The first one (in Vienna) went according to our prediction. Netherlands win it all, again. But the second one, recently played in Mongolia, was much more interesting. The final game decided in the last seconds was a fantastic game…

…and the final standings are super interesting, especially in the context of the next section of this newsletter:

FIBA3x3 World Cup predictions

Three best teams from each group will advance to the next round…

…and we think, that in men’s category these are the ones to bet on:

• Pool A: Serbia, Germany, Australia

• Pool B: USA, Latvia, Mongolia

• Pool C: France, Austria, Puerto Rico

• Pool D: Netherlands, Lithuania, Spain

Women teams with the highest chances to advance, in our opinion:

• Pool A: Australia, China, Poland

• Pool B: Netherlands, USA, Japan

• Pool C: France, Canada, Latvia

• Pool D: Spain, Mongolia, Germany

Who is going to take medals home? Almost impossible to say, but we think that men quarterfinals may be played by Serbia, Latvia, France and Netherlands. Women top 4: USA, Spain, Australia and Netherlands again. Let’s see…

Non-obvious players with superstar potential

World Cup, as usual, is the event where stars are born. Here is the list of players you might not have heard of before, but whom you should definitely watch during the Ulaanbaatar championship::

Dillon Stith, Australia, Asia Cup MVP:

Titas Janusevicius, Lithuania:

Antonio Ralat, Puerto Rico:

Alex Wilson, Australia, Asia Cup MVP this and past year:

Klaudia Papp, Hungary:

Fuyuko Takahashi, Japan:

That’s all for this week; we hope you have enough to digest before an even more intense week. Thanks for reading!

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FIBA3x3 system is complicated

That’s for sure. However, step by step, we can make it easier to understand. At least until it changes, again.

Thanks to all readers, especially subscribers, you rock! If you like our work, please share it within your network. Remember, we are on X too, and our FB group is lacking your wisdom!

Interesting facts about 3x3 basketball

All unknowns are known now, both in Europe and USA.

FIBA3x3 EuroCup2025 qualifiers are done

Full lists of teams visiting Copenhagen in September below. It’s a pity that Belgium, Great Britain and Poland won’t be represented in the men’s championship, but Italy, Hungary, Ireland really deserved it.

History of FIBA3x3 EuroCup

As you can see below, historically, Slovenia used to have a very strong team, too. But statistically, betting against Serbia is not a good idea at all.

It was much more diversified in the women’s competition, there are top 3 teams to beat: Spain, France, Netherlands.

BIG3

The league is kicking things off this weekend in Chicago. MVP Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson will face Dwight Howard and Wesley Johnson in the most interesting game. In our opinion, Miami is going to win this one.

Full schedule for stage one below, who do you cheer for?

FIBA 3x3 World Tour

Unusual, quiet week. Let’s look forward then and try to predict what will happen in Vienna.

Week summary

Some teams played in EuroCup qualifiers, which we discussed in detail week ago, . This time as national teams. For sure Lithuania (Raudondvaris) and Switzerland (Lausanne) are satisfied with results, while Belgium (Riffa) surprisingly didn’t advance to EuroCup.

#3x3PowerRanking

TOP17 teams in the world, in our opinion. Since the previous one, no changes.

Format: position, team, position change, current FIBA3x3 ranking (June 4th 2025), reason.

1. Toulouse, -, 3, still seems to be the strongest team.

2. Amsterdam, -, 2, no De Jong = no final in Mongolia.

3. UB, +1, 1, two tournaments won in one week.

4. Miami, -1, 4, quiet week.

5. Raudondvaris, -, 6, preparing for Euro Cup qualifier.

6. Chongming, +1, 10, it’s no longer just Latvians and Forte.

7. Liman, -1, 7, took a break.

8. Hangzhou, -, 16, Ub and Chongming were too strong for them.

9. Vienna, -, 5, resting too.

10. Riffa, -, 8, stayed at home.

11. Partizan, -, 9, deserved a rest.

12. Ulaanbaatar, -, 14, we expected more from them at home.

13. Lausanne, -, 12, hopefully they are regrouping.

14. London, +4, 11, strong performance in Sukhbaatar.

15. Utrecht, -1, 17, they need to play more.

16. Shinagawa, -, 23, another two losses and just one win.

17. Carolina, -, 15, no games, no changes.

Predictions

Vienna Masters - the strongest this year, it seems. Whole top 10 of our power ranking will be present! And the rest will play in qualifying draws!

Our take is that the winner will come from United States, but triumph of any team from power ranking top 3 won’t be a big surprise. Sorry, Vienna, not this time.

3x3 basketball national teams

A little bit of future, present and history of FIBA3x3 different flavours.

Women’s Series in Vienna

There is only one favourite: Netherlands. Let’s see whether the home team, Ukraine, Austria or Hungary can resist… chances are rather low. Our MVP candidate - Janis Boonstra:

Interesting fact: one of the biggest and most important cities in the whole world - Shanghai - invests in 3x3 basketball heavily. Women’s Series finals will be played there - through 2028.

FIBA3x3 Nations League starts

Vienna become the capital of 3x3 this weekend, respect.

Besides the World Tour and Women's Series, the main youth series competition will also take place there this weekend.

The Nations League is played in conferences (European, African, Asian, American, Oceanian) with the top teams of each conference qualifying for the Final. The calendar is full, and the system… complicated, of course. Anyway, the more opportunities for the youngsters to play - the better, so we won’t complain too much.

The winners of each conference of the Nations League qualify for the U23 World Cup of the same calendar year. Further teams may qualify to the World Cup based on the League Standings. Each National Member Federation can only be represented by one national team per gender at the U23 World Cup, even if their national teams win both the U23 and U21 conferences.

Best World Cup shot… so far

Michael Hicks was the best offensive player in 3x3 basketball history. Period. And this was a shot of his life.

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Intro

87% of all World Cup and Olympic medals in men category belong to European teams. Women are more diversified, it’s “only” 60%. That’s why incoming weekend games are so important.

Thanks to all readers, especially subscribers, you rock! If you like our work, please share within your network. Remember, we are on X too, and our FB group is lacking your wisdom!

Interesting facts about 3x3 basketball

Where the past meets the future… and Ice Cube.

3x3 basketball is an European game

History of World Championship (FIBA3x3 World Cup) clearly shows the European dominance, at least in men’s category. Please notice, that Serbia wasn’t rewarded with the medal… twice.

To be fair, we have to admit that women’s World Cups and Olympic Games are less European-centric, mainly thanks to the USA team.

Where 3x3 basketball meets technology

Have the Netherlands won Olympic Games thanks to an app? We doubt so, but this story is very interesting to read and definitely shows the future of 3x3 and sports in general.

BIG3

Interview with league founder Ice Cube - most surprising and interesting topics - from our perspective:

• He claims that the Big3's regular season ratings are doing better numbers than MLS or NHL in their regular season.

• You can definitely expect him to jump up there and get down with grabbing the mic and entertaining the crowd.

• He expresses that the league is doing "more than meets the eye" when it comes to helping athletes, specifically mentioning helping their mental health and providing a place to play at the pro level for those who might not have otherwise gotten to end their careers on their own terms.

Full version:

FIBA 3x3 World Tour

Only one tournament, in Mongolia. The only challenger played gathered half of the teams present in our power ranking, so small updates were needed.

Week summary

Sukhbaatar challenger, won by Ub, showed that, whatever they did during the break after a slow start, was effective. It also proved, that both Strahinja Stojacic and Cameron Forte are simply dominant:

And, luckily for all fans, they met in the final game:

#3x3PowerRanking

TOP17 teams in the world, in our opinion. Since the previous one, no new teams were added.

Format: position, team, position change, current FIBA3x3 ranking (June 4th 2025), reason.

1. Toulouse, -, 3, still seems to be the strongest team.

2. Amsterdam, -, 2, no De Jong = no final in Mongolia.

3. UB, +1, 1, two tournaments won in one week.

4. Miami, -1, 4, quiet week.

5. Raudondvaris, -, 6, preparing for Euro Cup qualifier.

6. Chongming, +1, 10, it’s no longer just Latvians and Forte.

7. Liman, -1, 7, took a break.

8. Hangzhou, -, 16, Ub and Chongming were too strong for them.

9. Vienna, -, 5, resting too.

10. Riffa, -, 8, stayed at home.

11. Partizan, -, 9, deserved a rest.

12. Ulaanbaatar, -, 14, we expected more from them at home.

13. Lausanne, -, 12, hopefully they are regrouping.

14. London, +4, 11, strong performance in Sukhbaatar.

15. Utrecht, -1, 17, they need to play more.

16. Shinagawa, -, 23, another two losses and just one win.

17. Carolina, -, 15, no games, no changes.

Predictions

No World Tour tournament scheduled for next week, but we can try guess the rest of the season, just for fun. In our opinion, the top 3 will stay the same: Toulouse, Ub, Amsterdam. The sequence may change, but at the end of the season they will lead the official ranking and play in a grand finale.

Utrecht and Shinagawa are also our candidates to final tournament, and top 10 ranking teams in the final classification.

Time will show whether the trends we observed so far were true and/or stable enough.

3x3 basketball national teams

In less than 100 days, Copenhagen (Denmark) will host 12 nations in both men’s and women’s competing in FIBA3x3 Euro Cup 2025

In the men's category, Austria (last year's winners), Denmark (Hosts), Serbia, France and Netherlands qualified directly thanks to the ranking.

In the women's category, Spain (last year's winners), Denmark (Hosts), Netherlands, France and Germany qualified thanks to the ranking.

It leaves only 7 slots open and ready to be captured during three tournaments being played in parallel in three cities.Let’s try to guess who will advance (men & women) and which player will shine most in each location. In other words, our classical 3x3 predictions for the weekend:

Euro Cup Pristina (Kosovo) - only the winners qualify

Men: Kosovo, Albania, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Ireland, Malta

Women: Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Ireland, Malta

In both cases Azerbaijan is our no. 1, even if the official ranking doesn’t show the same.

Bucharest (Romania) - three teams qualify

Men: Romania, Latvia, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Greece, Turkiye, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Switzerland

In our opinion, Belgium, Spain and Poland, have the best chance to advance, with Adrian Bogucki being unstoppable under the basket. Latvia, without Lasmanis, may struggle a little bit. Greece and Croatia can create some positive surprises.

Women: Romania, Latvia, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Greece, Turkiye, Belgium, Croatia, Serbia

Latvia, after the latest Women’s Series win, has to be considered as contender. The Poland team looks better each month. And Hungary is always fun to watch, so we wish them success, too. Ukraine and Serbia for sure will catch our eye as well.

Kosice (Slovakia) - three teams qualify

Men: Slovakia, Lithuania, Czechia , Italy, Israel, Slovakia, Great Britain, Portugal, Georgia, Germany, Montenegro, Estonia

Lithuania is a no-brainer here, but to choose the other two is tough. We go with Great Britain and Germany, they deserve to give us a high-five in Copenhagen.

Women: Slovakia, Lithuania, Czechia, Italy, Israel, Slovakia, Great Britain, Portugal, Georgia, Austria

Italy, Lithuania and… no idea… let’s say Czechia. The first two played well last season, Czechia looks pretty good in 2025.

Take care, watch lots of 3x3 this weekend and don’t forget to comment and share what you just read if you like it!

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Intro

It was an intense week! We got answers to some important questions… some of them from 3x3 basketball wizard. Can you recognize him? Our favourite 3x3 player of all time, read till the end to see him in action.

Thanks to all readers, especially subscribers, you rock! If you like our work, please share within your network. Remember, we are on X too, and our FB group is lacking your wisdom!

Interesting facts about 3x3 basketball

This time we are visiting UK, BIG3 and… gym. Yes, you need to practice before you play, there was only one Allen Iverson.

Train with the 3x3 World Champions

Two years ago FIBA 3×3 has prepared a series of videos showing in detail how the team from Novi Sad prepares physically for the game.

Check out the playlist containing 30(!) short videos in which the players of the legendary team demonstrate the exercises that have made them undefeated for many years and helped them win everything there is to win in 3×3 basketball. The team from Novi Sad has always stood out in terms of physical preparation, and now you can see how they got there and follow the same path.

Dušan Domović Bulut, Dejan Majstorović, and Marko Ždero show in detail exercises for specific muscle groups, performed with various types of equipment and focusing on specific skills needed in 3×3 play. The icing on the cake is an interview with the coach of the Novi Sad team and the Serbian national team, Danilo Lukic.

3x3 basketball communities around the world

Did you know, that it is actually possible to mix 3x3 basketball with NBA? Jr. NBA 3v3 is a fantastic program aiming to support teachers and young players. You can see it in action next week in London. A free tournament for secondary schools will take place at Trafalgar Square. Boys and Girls teams will compete to become London's first Jr. NBA 3v3 champions. Fingers crossed!

It’s not the first time. Two months ago similar tournament in India - ACG Jr. NBA 3v3 - created lots of interest in the biggest country in the world:

BIG3

Full season 8th schedule is already available. Tickets starts at $76,30. To prepare well, we recommend you to watch documentary series about season 7th, just released:

FIBA 3x3 World Tour

Marseille Masters didn’t disappoint!

Week summary

The French stop of the World Tour did not bring any sensational results, but brought some sensational individual performances. Mr. Mustache averaged over 10 points per game in this tournament! And he did it in style:

Week ago we expected Serbian-French final. Half true. The Serbs did play in the final and won it, but the French failed to do so. However, they played the most spectacular basketball, as confirmed by the best plays of the tournament:

Besides Dr Strange, two players caught our eye:

Cameron Forte – the left-handed Baby Shaq from the Chinese team Chongming. Practically unstoppable alone under the basket, unless you are 210 cm tall. In Marseille, he averaged 7.5 rebounds per game! If it weren't for Lasmanis' injury and Chongming's unchanged performance in the semifinals, we might have seen him with the MVP trophy in his hands.

Henry Caruso – this year could be the Caruso’s year! In the absence of Mitch Hahn, he led the Miami team in rebounds and also shot accurately from distance. Throughout the tournament, he averaged 4.8 rebounds and 42% for two.

Best games?

In the group stage, the match between Toulouse and Chongming (Forte in action!) was interesting and exciting until the very end, so it's worth taking a look:

The best game in the playoffs was definitely the match between Miami and... Toulouse again. A classic! The excitement was evident in the fact that the players almost came to blows after the final whistle – not usual thing on 3×3 courts.

#3x3PowerRanking

TOP17 teams in the world, in our opinion. Since the previous one, no new teams were added.

Format: position, team, position change, current FIBA3x3 ranking (May 27th 2025), reason. No big changes after Marseille Masters.

1. Toulouse, -, 3, bad luck but still top plays.

2. Amsterdam, -, 2, second again in Marseille, third final this year.

3. Miami, -, 4, Andrew Kelly knows stuff.

4. UB, +1, 1, one man show worked in France.

5. Raudondvaris, -1, 6, quiet May costed them few positions.

6. Liman, -, 7, almost beat Ub, almost...

7. Chongming, +3, 10, strooong team, when healthy.

8. Hangzhou, -1, 15, took well deserved break.

9. Vienna, -1, 5, only one win in Marseille.

10. Riffa, -1, 8, it will be tough to stay in top 10 long term.

11. Partizan, -, 9, didn’t play.

12. Ulaanbaatar, -, 14, as above.

13. Lausanne, -1, 12, 0-2 again.

14. Utrecht, +1, 17, definitely potential for top 10.

15. Shinagawa, -1, 22, two losses in Marseille.

16. Carolina, -, 16, have to play more frequently.

17. London, -, 11, didn’t play in WT this week.

Predictions

Sukhbaatar Challenger is going to be fierce competition! And there is no better place for Ulaanbaatar team to advance in our power ranking above. Ub will look for a second win in a row, Amsterdam plays without Worthy De Jong and Chongming without Latvians. We will cheer for Barcelona in the qualifying round, and later on. It would be nice to see them in semifinals, together with Ub, Ulaanbaatar, London and Amsterdam. But we feel anything can happen in Mongolia, don’t bet too much on our predictions this time.

3x3 basketball national teams

World Cup 2025 is set, last six free slots filled in. Let’s see how it happened.

Women’s Series surprise in Baku

Latest stop in Azerbaijan had one favourite - Dutch team. Until the final game everything went according to the plan, they went through playoffs without noticeable problems. But, on the other side of the bracket, Latvia team (6th seed) was playing great 3x3 basketball, too. Their game against China (2nd in world ranking after Netherlands) was especially impressive:

Final was decided by last second shot by Latvia. MVP of the tournament, Ketija Vihmane, registered a 3x3 equivalent of triple-double - triple-five - in last game with 7 points, 5 rebounds and 5 highlights.

World Cup 2025

In general, it was probably the best week in whole Latvia history of women 3x3 basketball. The final six tickets to this year world championships were secured during the FIBA 3x3 World Cup Qualifier tournament in Baku, on May 24-25. Brazil, Latvia and Chile women team finished with happy end, while Montenegro, Canada and Great Britain earned their tickets in the men's.

Soon after that, the World Cup pools has been announced. It is really difficult to find the most difficult groups… but if you ask us, we would prefer to join group B, in both cases.

How was the Canadian team able to beat all opponents, including strong Great Britain and local teams? The answer below.

Sir Steve Sir

This man is like wine, the older the better. Can you imagine yourself being 42 years old and competing in the most physically demanding sport against players 20 years younger? And he is not only competing, he is winning! 7,3 points per game, enjoy Steve Sir basketball IQ and shots until you can:

This is not the first time we write about our most favourite player of all time, and hopefully not the last one.

Take care and don’t forget to share our content after playing streetball during the weekend!

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Intro

Fifth edition - time flies! Let’s celebrate a little bit and sing a song:

Thanks to all readers, especially subscribers! If you appreciate our work, please share our publication. Remember, we are on X too, and our FB group needs more heated discussions!

Interesting facts about 3x3 basketball

This section today is probably most interesting to the students - you can watch the movie, play in tournament during summer break or schedule your summer internship in sunny Italy ;)

Streetball music

If you don’t like our intro, here are some streetball music video clips that every 3x3 player should know. FIBA3x3 approved.

World Tour 2017 Anthem:

World Tour 2023 song:

Let us know if there is another nice, streetball piece of music all 3x3 players should sing.

3x3 basketball communities around the world

What is the biggest 3x3 basketball league in the world? 3X3.EXE Premier, founded in Japan in 2014, as the world's first professional 3x3 basketball league. It's now the largest globally, spanning 5 countries with 96 teams! Many top world players spend there European off-season playing for local teams. Here you can see the final day of the latest edition, featuring e.g. Lausanne and Hangzhou teams:

BIG3

We know the rosters for season 8th:

• Boston Ball Hogs - Kevin Murphy, DeShawn Stephens, Scotty Hopson, Jonathon Simmons, Chris Johnson

• Chicago Triplets - Montrezl Harrell, Kemba Walker, Jason Richardson, Chris Allen, Amir Johnson

• Dallas Power - Greg Monroe, Glen Rice Jr., Paul Millsap, John Millsap, TJ Cline

• Detroit Amplifiers - Jeremy Pargo, Darnell Jackson, Joe Johnson, Ray Nixon, Shakur Juiston

• DVM Trilogy - Earl Clark, Isaiah Briscoe, Isaiah Austin, DaJuan Summers, Franklin Session

• Houston Rig Hands - Gerald Green, Corey Brewer, Garlon Green, Jaylen Johnson, Javier Carter

• Los Angeles Riot - Dwight Howard, Jordan Crawford, Elijah Stewart, Jeff Teague, Wesley Johnson, Nick Young

• Miami 305 - Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, Reggie Evans, Sean Williams, Lance Stephenson

And… we think BIG3 players should be considered as candidates to USA 3x3 national team (explained below).

FIBA 3x3 World Tour

Three big tournaments! We know it is hard to follow everything during the weekend, so here is a carefully chosen collection of games. There were the most interesting ones, but it doesn’t mean that the others were boring.

Week summary

Amsterdam Master - the French from Toulouse actually won it twice, so the victory is doubly deserved. The MVP of the tournament, Paul Djoko is the type of player who, when others don't get their way, just takes the ball and plays 1-on-1. His speed and jumping ability are a problem for everyone. This has made the Toulouse team more versatile and unpredictable. Congratulations!

Team of the week? Young Serbians (20 years in average) from Vracar:

The second stop of this year's Women's Series ended exactly the same as the first, that is, with an emphatic victory for the Dutch women. Even in the final, playing against a very strong Canadian team, they won high, although the match was balanced for a long time:

Challenger in Xi’an (Chinese city, 3000+ years old, known from Terracotta Army), won by Chongming team, should definitely add few teams to your radar. First of them is Marijampole (Lithuania), here against future winners:

Secondly, Chinese and French teams, not yet top ones, but also a fun to watch:

#3x3PowerRanking

TOP17 teams in the world, in our opinion. Since the previous one, one team (from Puerto Rico) was added.

Format: position, team, position change, current FIBA3x3 ranking (May 22th 2025), reason. This week was pretty quiet, so we comment the changes only.

1. Toulouse, +2, 2, Stormers took Amsterdam by storm.

2. Amsterdam, -1, 3, losing at home hurts.

3. Miami, -1, 4, James Parrott urgently needed.

4. Raudondvaris, -, 6, they took a break.

5. UB, -, 1, regrouping and training.

6. Liman, +1, 7, Zigon gives them new life.

7. Hangzhou, +1, 15, almost at Liman level

8. Vienna, +1, 5, statement win against Riffa.

9. Riffa, -3, 8, surprisingly, 0/2 in Amsterdam masters.

10. Chongming, +1, 10, 5/5 in Xi’an challenger.

11. Partizan, -1, 9, unusual 1/3 in Xi’an challenger.

12. Ulaanbaatar, +1, 13, Anand Ariunbold is gooood!.

13. Lausanne, -1, 13, two so-so games in Amsterdam.

14. Shinagawa, -, 23, unlucky week, two minimal loses.

15. Utrecht, +1, 17, stronger than you think.

16. Carolina, new, 16, definitely fun to watch.

17. London, -2, 11, didn’t play.

Predictions

Two tournaments in Marseille - men and women. What’s our take?

Women’s Series - no more easy wins for Netherlands. They play great this season, but if they meet Spain, USA or France (supported by home crowd) - everything is possible. Our hearts are with Polish team of course, after 3rd place in Amsterdam hopefully they can make some surprises here.

Marseille Masters - Toulouse has a big chance to repeat success in Amsterdam, and probably even a bigger pressure. Not an easy task, with Ub being back after some rest, Amsterdam looking for Paris Olympic final game sequel and Chongming on a roll. Miami plays without Mitch Hahn and may therefore lack some size. Vienna and Utrecht are always dangerous, too. Our bet: Toulouse vs Ub in grand final.

3x3 basketball national teams

Some not-so-good news plus (hopefully) constructive feedback.

Some federations needs heads-up

We think it is still early enough to react, but also late enough to say that some national teams are not where they usually were. Here is the list and some hints how to realize their huge potentials before it is too late. Currently, the federations showing some troubles are:

• USA - they can take all the top 10 places in our power ranking, but for some reason they have only one team (Miami) competing at World Tour level. The Phoenix team’s appearance in Xi’an Challenger was a disaster. It’s hard to beat NBA dreams, but maybe the way to success leads through the veterans? Lasmanis and Bulut played against and with them in BIG3 and never dominated… BIG3 players still have it.

• Poland - historically strong, recently big unknown despite the World Cup 2026 in Warsaw announced this month. New opening is needed? U23 and women teams are still looking healthy and strong.

• Canada - just compare their 5x5 and 3x3 national team rosters and rankings. Unbelievable. They may have the same systemic issue as USA. If so, we propose to look at UK as an example, instead of copy-pasting from the south.

• Slovenia - as above, it’s a shame they don’t have a 3x3 equivalent of Luka Doncic. Guys, just follow Serbian steps and everything will be fine.

These were just half-serious, quick-win life-hacks. For serious, long term strategies look at the data below.

FIBA 3x3 youth federation rankings

Which countries treat 3x3 basketball seriously? Where are the future winners of FIBA3x3 World Tour, World Cup and Olympic Games? Here is the answer:

There are only 5 teams present in both top 10s: Germany, France, China, Japan, Latvia and Netherlands.

GOAT

Do you know who is the Greatest Of All Time 3x3 player? Some of you for sure do, but younger FIBA3x3 fans might not know… And the music and BIG3 reminiscenses above made us really, really miss this guy. Dusan Bulut - still the best player in 3x3 history:

Take care and don’t forget to hoop a little bit during the weekend!

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Intro

Fourth edition is like a 4-point shot made in BIG3, and we feel exactly like this - happy and grateful to be able to write to you every week.

Thanks to all readers, especially subscribers! If you appreciate our work, please share our publication. Remember, we are on X too, and our FB group awaits your input!

First movie poster featuring 3x3 basketball team ever created. A good one, don’t you think?

Interesting facts about 3x3 basketball

This section today is probably most interesting to the students - you can watch the movie, play in tournament during summer break or schedule your summer internship in sunny Italy ;)

Better than Netflix

Do you like basketball movies? We love them! And what about 3x3 basketball productions?

2 weeks ago we wrote about “Gold is better” and you liked it, so let’s continue on the topic. There is a movie about historical, first Olympic gold medal team, too:

And another, about the team, which never won Olympic gold, despite they fully deserved it:

Both shows the real grassroots and soul of streetball, the reasons why we all like 3x3 basketball so much. Enjoy! (English subtitles are of course available).

3x3 basketball communities around the world

Playing 3x3 becomes more and more popular, also among students. Here is the rare opportunity to play (if you can) or participate (if you want) in European Universities 3x3 Basketball Championship 2025.

Who wants to spent beginning of August in sunny Salerno (Italy)?

Register the team here. You can also apply as a volunteer, to help organise the whole championship, learn how such kind of events works from the backstage and get some extra points to your CV.

BIG3

Another recognisable (to say least) NBA player decided to move his talents to Ice Cube’s league. Do you remember Born Ready?

Also season 8 draft event will take place… today. Expect our summary next week.

FIBA 3x3 World Tour

Hongcheon Challenger was the only and main event past week, played unusually inside, but still pretty interesting.

Week summary

We must admit, that there were two teams we underappreciated at the beginning of 2025 season: Raudondvaris and Riffa. Apologies, especially to Mr Donkor! Both of them show strength and consistency at the beginning of current World Tour, and both of them were pretty close from winning the most important tournament last weekend. And… the both lost to Hangzhou team (officially playing as Chinese team, without Chinese players in the roster):

First, in semifinal, playing without Vidovic, they dismantled Belgians:

And later on, in a final game, they beat Lithuanians (four players, but no Pukelis - it changes a lot):

Let’s see what Hangzhou will show this weekend in Amsterdam Masters…

#3x3PowerRanking

TOP16 teams in the world, in our opinion. Since the previous one, one team was added.

Format: position, team, position change, current FIBA3x3 ranking (May 14th 2025), reason. This week was pretty quiet, so we comment the changes only.

1. Amsterdam, -, 2,

2. Miami, -, 3.

3. Toulouse, -, 4.

4. Raudondvaris, -, 5.

5. UB, -, 1.

6. Riffa, +1, 7, seems we underestimated Dennis Donkor a little bit.

7. Liman, -1, 8, only one win in Korea.

8. Hangzhou, +3, 14, winners of Hongcheon Challenger!

9. Vienna, -1, 6, haven’t play this week.

10. Partizan, -1, 9, took a break.

11. Chongming, -1, 11, resting.

12. Lausanne, -, 12.

13. Ulaanbaatar, -, 13.

14. Shinagawa, -, 22.

15. London, -, 10.

16. Utrecht, new, 15, 4th place in Korea.

Predictions

Three super interesting tournaments are scheduled for this weekend, ladies first:

Women’s Series in Amsterdam - it would be crazy to not assume that the host team is going to win it all. But Mongolian, Chinese and Australian teams have similar plan… and this is our top 4.

Amsterdam Masters - first tournament won by Olympics winners? Why not? Beside them, Miami, Riffa and Toulouse should be present in semifinals we think.

Xi’an Challenger - Shanghai and Phoenix are teams to watch carefully, and Partizan is the team to beat.

3x3 basketball national teams

Three news from three continents (America, Asia and Europe) - classical 3x3.

Congratulations to the new USA 3x3 basketball champions!

Michael Jordan in NBC. So what? You better read an interview with Jimmer Fredette! And yes, he openly admitted:

Our USA Basketball player pool is pretty small right now.

That’s why it is worth to watch the Phoenix team mentioned above even more. One of the players playing in Xi’an is Max Murrells, who also has something to say about his new 3x3 adventure.

FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2025 qualifier

Last three men's and women's tickets left for the biggest event of the national 3x3 basketball season. FIBA announced the pools for the qualifier being played in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) end of June.

Who is going to take them? Montenegro, Canada and Great Britain men teams and Chinese Taipei, Azerbaijan are our bets. At least right now, until the rosters are known…

Italy took 3x3 basketball seriously, finally

Amadeo Della Valle, former captain of the senior national team, announced his return to the Azzurri jersey, but this time he will play 3x3!

It is definitely a great news for Italy men national team, currently ranked 25th in FIBA3x3 ranking. He definitely knows what basketball is about:

Have great weekend, full of 3x3 basketball, take care!