SAN SALVADOR (El Salvador) – Jimmer Fredette of the USA was named Most Valuable Player of the FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup 2026 on Sunday after leading his country to a third straight men’s title.

Fredette saved his best for the biggest stage, pouring in a tournament-high 13 points in the Final as the USA defeated Canada 21-15 to capture their fifth AmeriCup men’s gold medal. The veteran guard had earlier contributed eight points in the Quarter-Final win over Mexico and five in the Semi-Final victory against Brazil.

Fredette finished the tournament ranked first in player value (59.4), total points (41), highlights (17) and two-pointers made (16). He also dished out 10 key assists, the second-highest total in the competition.

A constant threat from beyond the arc and a driving force behind the USA’s championship run, Fredette capped a standout campaign by claiming the tournament’s top individual honor.

Stay Connected

Follow all the latest action from the FIBA 3×3 Cups tournaments throughout the 2026 season by visiting the official FIBA 3×3 website, where you can find the latest news, star players and everything you need to know. Fans can also keep track of the Event Calendar and the latest FIBA 3×3 Individual and Federation Rankings as teams and players continue their push toward the season finale.

Want to learn more about 3×3 basketball? Explore the official FIBA 3×3 Rules to understand the unique fast-paced format of the game, or discover the FIBA 3×3 Competition Structure to see how the discipline’s global pathway connects grassroots events, professional tours and world-class international competitions.

FIBA

PHOENIX (AP) — Jimmer Fredette’s return to the court was a winning one.

Fredette was named MVP of the FIBA 3×3 Phoenix Challenger on Sunday night, scoring eight points in the final to lead Team Miami to a 22-16 win over Amsterdam for the title. Team Miami went 5-0 in the two-day tournament.

Advertisement

Fredette and USA Basketball announced last week that he was stepping down from his role as managing director of the men’s 3×3 program and coming out of retirement as a player after more than two years away from the game.

Riley Battin had a team-high 38 points for Team Miami in the tournament, while Fredette had 27, Parrott had 24 and Henry Caruso scored 17.

Team Miami now heads to the 2026 FIBA 3×3 World Tour Deqing this coming weekend in China.

Fredette was the 2011 AP men’s college basketball player of the year after averaging a nation-leading 28.9 points per game as a senior at BYU, became an NBA lottery pick, spent parts of six seasons in the NBA, played internationally in Europe and Asia and twice scored at least 70 points in games while in China.

Advertisement

He then turned his attention to 3×3 and was part of the U.S. team that played in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fredette got hurt during that tournament and wound up retiring several months later, though now has eyes on potentially playing in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

___

See AP’s full NBA coverage here

(AP) — Jimmer Fredette has decided to resume his playing career, a decision that means he is stepping down as the managing director of USA Basketball’s men’s 3×3 program and will return to the court for the first time in more than two years.

Fredette and USA Basketball made the announcement Tuesday. The 37-year-old Fredette, who held the managing director job for about 18 months and intended to guide the program through at least the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, is expected to play this weekend in a FIBA 3×3 tournament in Phoenix.

Fredette said he’s all-in on his comeback, which would indicate that playing in those 2028 Olympics is in his plans.

MORE: Jersey retirement ‘hard to put into words’ for BYU great Jimmer Fredette

“It was somewhere between three and four months ago when I really started to kind of think about it,” Fredette told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “I had no inclination to come back. I felt great being home. It was awesome. I had the kids, the family, everything’s going great, enjoying my time as a full-time dad and coach and doing my other things, and it was good. And then over the last few months, I just kind of had playing creep into my mind.”

Fredette retired from playing — or so he thought — in April 2025. That was nine months after he entered the Paris Olympics as the top-ranked 3×3 men’s player in the world, leading a U.S. team that figured to be a serious medal contender.

But the native of Glens Falls, New York, suffered an adductor muscle injury early in the tournament and the U.S. by rule could not replace him on its four-man roster for the Paris Games, so the Americans had to play the rest of the Olympics with three players and no substitutes. The U.S. lost five of its seven games in Paris and finished seventh.

“I won’t lie to you and say that there’s not a little bit of a feeling of unfinished business,” Fredette said. “But I think generally it’s more of me thinking I can still play. There’s a lot of time between now and the Olympics. And so, that’s not even something that I’m actually focusing on at this point. It’s more of I just want to go back out into a tournament, one tournament, and just see how I play and see how I feel and then go to the next tournament and see if I can get back to the form to where I was.

“There’s a lot of things that can happen before now and the Olympics. I’m not saying that me coming back is going to be a fairytale ending because you absolutely never know — and most of the time in sports, it’s not that way. This is more about me just being able to compete again because I feel like I can, and I feel like if I don’t at least give myself that opportunity then I’ll have some regrets.”

The U.S., as the Olympic host, is already qualified for the 2028 Games.

Fredette was the 2011 AP men’s college basketball player of the year after averaging a nation-leading 28.9 points per game as a senior at BYU, became an NBA lottery pick, spent parts of six seasons in the NBA, played internationally in Europe and Asia and twice scored at least 70 points in games while in China.

He then got talked into trying 3×3, went to the Olympics, and now might be headed there again.

Fredette had the conversation with his wife, Whitney, a few months ago when he thought about playing. She told him that she had been waiting for such a talk — and that she always suspected he would go back.

“Once I got her approval and support, then I felt good about it,” Fredette said. “That’s when I felt like I can go all in on this again and try to be able to come back. And now, we’ll see what happens.”

He insists it was not an easy decision to leave his job at USA Basketball and didn’t want to put the national federation in a tough spot. USA Basketball officials ultimately assured him that if he wanted to play, he should.

“USA Basketball is grateful for the extensive time Jimmer gave to our 3×3 men’s program as Managing Director,” said Jay Demings, USA Basketball 3×3 national team director. “We are excited to have Jimmer return as a player on Team Miami, a team he is a founding member of, at the FIBA 3×3 Phoenix Challenger.”

Fredette’s spot in the federation office is not being filled immediately. USA Basketball’s board of directors has asked the federation’s 3×3 National Team Committee to “fill the role of identifying coaching staffs and players for major international competitions at the senior and junior levels through 2028.”

___

See AP’s full NBA coverage here

PHOENIX — Jimmer Fredette’s return to the court was a winning one.

Fredette was named MVP of the FIBA 3×3 Phoenix Challenger, scoring eight points in the final to lead Team Miami to a 22-16 win over Amsterdam for the title. Team Miami went 5-0 in the two-day tournament.

Fredette and USA Basketball announced he was stepping down from his role as managing director of the men’s 3×3 program and coming out of retirement as a player after more than two years away from the game.

Riley Battin had a team-high 38 points for Team Miami in the tournament, while Fredette had 27, Parrott had 24 and Henry Caruso scored 17.

Team Miami now heads to the 2026 FIBA 3×3 World Tour Deqing in China.

Fredette was the 2011 AP men’s college basketball player of the year after averaging a nation-leading 28.9 points per game as a senior at BYU, became an NBA lottery pick, spent parts of six seasons in the NBA, played internationally in Europe and Asia and twice scored at least 70 points in games while in China.

He then turned his attention to 3×3 and was part of the U.S. team that played in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fredette got hurt during that tournament and wound up retiring several months later, though now has eyes on potentially playing in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

PHOENIX (AP) — Jimmer Fredette’s return to the court was a winning one.

Fredette was named MVP of the FIBA 3×3 Phoenix Challenger on Sunday night, scoring eight points in the final to lead Team Miami to a 22-16 win over Amsterdam for the title. Team Miami went 5-0 in the two-day tournament.

Fredette and USA Basketball announced last week that he was stepping down from his role as managing director of the men’s 3×3 program and coming out of retirement as a player after more than two years away from the game.

Riley Battin had a team-high 38 points for Team Miami in the tournament, while Fredette had 27, Parrott had 24 and Henry Caruso scored 17.

Team Miami now heads to the 2026 FIBA 3×3 World Tour Deqing this coming weekend in China.

Fredette was the 2011 AP men’s college basketball player of the year after averaging a nation-leading 28.9 points per game as a senior at BYU, became an NBA lottery pick, spent parts of six seasons in the NBA, played internationally in Europe and Asia and twice scored at least 70 points in games while in China.

He then turned his attention to 3×3 and was part of the U.S. team that played in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fredette got hurt during that tournament and wound up retiring several months later, though now has eyes on potentially playing in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

See AP’s full NBA coverage here

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

kAmk2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^2A?6HD]4@>^2CE:4=6^;:>>6C7C656EE6FD232D 9:D C@=6 2D >2?28:?8 5:C64E@C @7 E96 >6?VD bIb AC@8C2> 2?5 4@>:?8 @FE @7 C6E:C6>6?E 2D 2 A=2J6C 27E6C >@C6 E92? EH@ J62CD 2H2J 7C@> E96 82>6]k^Am

kAm#:=6J q2EE:? 925 2 E62>9:89 bg A@:?ED 7@C %62> |:2>: E96 E@FC?2>6?E[ H9:=6 uC656EE6 925 af[ !2CC@EE 925 ac 2?5 w6?CJ r2CFD@ D4@C65 `f]k^Am