Basketball's increasingly global reach was showcased once again at the London Olympic Games, with perhaps the deepest international field ever produced. But FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, still sees room for growth. In an attempt to expand basketball's worldwide popularity, FIBA is making a significant push for 3-on-3 basketball, which is commonly played at parks, playgrounds and schoolyards across the country. The group, which already sponsors a 3-on-3 world tour and world championship, is trying to establish a world rankings system that could help the game become an Olympic sport. Perhaps as soon as the 2016 Rio Games. "Like volleyball has beach volleyball, swimming has synchronized swimming, we want three-on-three to be part of it," FIBA Secretary-general Patrick Baumann told USA Today. A global three-on-three structure could allow smaller countries to participate in the Olympics, and FIBA hopes that might lead to a trickle-down effect in countries that are not traditional basketball powerhouses. Still, an expanded global reach for 3-on-3 basketball won't make it easier to beat any team with LeBron James. http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish/201208/fiba-pushing-3-3-basketball-2016-olympics
The USA sends two 3-on-3 teams to the Olympics: Bryant/Nash/Howard, and James/Bosh/Wade. They also send a note stating:
Yeah, about Canada... not that I have contacts in the Army but... a lot can happen between now and 2016.
NBA players suck at 3-man basketball. On national TV each year, Bill Walton used to do color when the champion 3-man team played against 3 NBA stars. The NBA lost every single year. Walton's sarcasm made it hilarious, but it got low ratings, so only lasted 3-4 years. I loved the show. The NBA team had to take his abuse after they had tried as hard as they could.
I admit, this would be cool to see, but does anyone else think this bastardizes the sport? I know three-on-three tournaments exist. Hell, I've played in them, but are we really going to introduce this to the rest of the world as an actual form of basketball? What's next... Olympic Basketball Trick Shots? Olympic Slamball? This is just not a road that I want to see basketball go down. The rest of the world is catching on to the game of basketball, and the last thing I want to see happen is a kid in China, inspired by Olympic 3-on-3 basketball, training his whole life for 3-on-3 basketball. Think about it... it'd be an entertaining novelty, but do you want to spawn an entirely new sport out of our current game that will detract from the current game of 5-on-5 basketball?
I'd rather see H-O-R-S-E than a 3-on-3 game. What is FIBA really trying to accomplish by this? It's a completely different game. Do they really think it'll do a favor for European (/international) competition? What happens when you take away Lithuania's match-up zone that they've perfected and tell kids in Lithuania that they've got to start planning for a 3-on-3 competition? It's not even the same game. It's like playing football without any linemen. All you'll do by introducing 3-on-3 to the Olympics is encourage young athletes to learn 3-on-3 instead of 5-on-5 basketball. It's a ratings (/money) ploy, and anyone who supports it doesn't have the best interests of the global game at heart.
Beach volleyball is different enough from team volleyball... 3-on-3 might be a chance (with some appropriate rules changes) for athletes who can't hack it in 5-on-5 to show their stuff.
You make good points, but the worldwide organizational structure already exists, though not recognized as an Olympic sport. Here's a new article today. Note all the articles preceding it. http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/arti.asp?newsid=53661
