Now midway between Summer Games, preparations for tournaments set to feature at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics are ramping up quickly. Athletes are mounting bids to qualify and those races are underway.

3X3 basketball – the half court, single net variation of the game with three players on each side – will appear in its third edition of the Games after debuting at Tokyo 2020 and returning at Paris 2024. The fast-paced event covers a small footprint with a temporary outdoor venue, limiting the burden for a host city while adding a great deal of fan appeal, especially for young people.

The sports program for Brisbane 2032 has yet to be finalized but the success of the 3X3 event in Paris will help drive its inclusion at future editions.

GamesBids.com caught up with FIBA’s 3×3 director, Alex Sanchez to ask some questions about the current status of the sport and his expectations for LA 28 and beyond.

GamesBids.com: What changes to the 3×3 tournament will be made that will make Paris 2024 and LA 2028 differ, and why were the changes made?

Alex Sanchez: The headline change is the size of the competition. The field expands from eight to twelve teams per gender, which means twenty-four teams in Los Angeles compared to sixteen in Paris. That is a fifty percent increase, and it is the single most important development for us in this cycle. It reflects the growth of 3×3 basketball worldwide and, critically, it allows for broader representation. For the first time, all five FIBA regions are guaranteed a place at the Olympic Games.

The second significant change is how teams qualify. For LA28 we have extended the Federation Ranking window from twelve to twenty-four months. Results across the entire FIBA 3×3 Pro Circuit and our Cup competitions now contribute to the Olympic race over a two-year period rather than a single season. Every World Tour stop, every Women’s Series event and every Challenger now carries meaning on the road to Los Angeles. The first qualified teams for LA28 will be confirmed in December 2027, starting a thrilling race to compete against the world’s best 3×3 players in one of the world’s most iconic basketball cities.

We have also structured four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in 2028, two of which are integrated into the Olympic Q-Series in Tokyo and Shanghai. Together these pathways make qualification more competitive and more global than at any previous Games.

GB: What are your thoughts on the LA28 venue location?

AS: 3×3 basketball will be played at Valley Complex 3 in the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, in a temporary open-air venue.

Two things make this location particularly well suited to our discipline. First, it is outdoors and temporary, which is where 3×3 basketball has always belonged. We are a discipline that plays in city squares and public spaces, close to the crowd, with no permanent construction required.

Second, we are part of a cluster of urban disciplines. 3×3 basketball sits alongside BMX Freestyle, BMX Racing, Skateboarding and Modern Pentathlon in the same zone. That creates exactly the kind of festival environment where our discipline performs best, and it gives fans a reason to spend a full day in the area rather than attending a single session.

GB: How are preparations going for the Q-Series in Tokyo and Shanghai?

AS: Preparations are progressing well and in close collaboration with the IOC and the local organizers in both cities. Tokyo will stage its event from 4 to 7 May 2028 and Shanghai from 11 to 14 May 2028, with one Olympic place per gender available at each.

Both cities carry real significance for us. Tokyo hosted the Olympic debut of 3×3 basketball in 2021, so returning there as part of the final qualification pathway has a certain symmetry. Shanghai has become one of the leading destinations on both the World Tour and the Women’s Series calendars, and will host the Women’s Series Final through 2028, making it the setting for the climax of our flagship women’s professional season in each of the next few years. China has developed into one of the most important markets for our discipline, and we know both cities well.

Placing 3×3 basketball alongside other urban and youth-focused disciplines, in a shared festival-style environment, is a model that works for athletes, fans and broadcasters alike. These will be high-stakes events with the last Olympic tickets on the line, and that combination of urgency and atmosphere should make for compelling competition.

GB: What are your thoughts on the new Olympic sports programme rules with respect to disciplines, and how will that impact the future of 3×3 at the Games? Will you be doing anything special to ensure 3×3 remains on future programmes?

AS: Our approach is to keep doing what has brought 3×3 basketball to this point. The growth speaks for itself. Our digital, and broadcast audiences keep growing year on year. On the participation side, our Youth Nations League now spans more than seventy countries and remains the engine feeding the entire ecosystem, while our professional circuit continues to expand with more events, more players and more national federations investing in the discipline every year. Around all of it is the festival atmosphere that defines a 3×3 basketball event, with music, culture and elite competition in the heart of the city, free and open to the public.

This weekend, hundreds of 3×3 basketball competitors, coaches, volunteers, fans and family will descend on San Juan, Puerto Rico for the first-ever Special Olympics Unified 3×3 Basketball World Cup. The event — featuring 19 men’s teams and 17 women’s teams, representing international delegations from around the globe — will be a showcase of the power of diversity and inclusion, and you won’t want to miss a minute.

How can I watch the Special Olympics Unified 3×3 Basketball World Cup?

The Opening Ceremonies will be held Thursday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m. EST. Competition begins Friday morning, at 8:00 a.m. EST and runs through Sunday evening. You can check out the full schedule at the event website.

The competition, beginning with the Opening Ceremony, will be livestreamed on YouTube, meaning you can follow the competition and celebration all weekend, no matter where you are.

Opening Ceremony:

Day 1 morning competition:

Day 1 afternoon competition:

Day 2 competition

What are Unified Sports?

Unified Sports is one of Special Olympics most important programs, with athletes with and without intellectual disabilities competing side-by-side. The underlying premise is pure inclusion: “training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.”

But the structure of Unified Sports still allows for plenty of competition. In the words of Special Olympics, “teams are made up of people of similar age and ability. That makes practices more fun and games more challenging and exciting for all. Having sport in common is just one more way that preconceptions and false ideas are swept away.”

Unified Sports programs began in the 1980s and today, are available in more than 190 countries with more 2 million participants. In addition, Unified Sports programs have spread to high schools and middle schools, and Special Olympics has launched their Unified with Refugees program, making sure their inclusion revolution is truly accessible to as many people as possible.

What countries are participating in the 3×3 World Cup?

The draw for this tournament was announced in September, with teams on both the men’s and women’s sides organized into groups for the opening rounds of group play. The United States is not competing on the men’s side, but will on the women’s side, in Group A with Uruguay, India, Morocco and Paraguay.

How does 3×3 Unified Basketball work?

3×3 basketball has developed into its own distinct sport over the past decade, joining the Summer Olympics in 2020 and the Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2023. The rule differences are pretty simple:

• Two teams of three players
• Games played on one basket, halfcourt
• Games are generally 10 minutes long, with no break after scoring
• 12-second shotclock
• Winner is the first team to 21 points, or whichever team is leading at the end of the 10 minutes

Unified 3×3 basketball adds the wrinkle of competitors with and without intellectual disabilities competing together.

Why We Play features stories about the power of sports to bring us together, overcome obstacles, make positive change and reach everyone. Read more here.

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