3x3 Basketball Explained: Rules of 3x3 Basketball

3x3 basketball is a variation of basketball featuring two teams of three basketball players competing in a half-court set-up with one basketball hoop. There are also specific rules of the game which set it apart from standard 5x5 basketball played on a full court.

A longtime staple of amateur games, 3x3 basketball is now an international sport thanks to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which promotes the game with 3x3 tournaments like the FIBA 3x3 World Cups for men’s and women’s basketball teams.

The history of 3x3 basketball begins in cities and towns across the United States:

• Streetball: This unique style of basketball began as informal pickup games in urban and suburban communities. It required little to start a 3x3 basketball game: six players, a ball, and half a basketball court at a local playground, high school, or recreational center.
• Tournaments: In the 2000s, 3x3 basketball became the focus of state and national competitions for amateur players of all ages and skill levels. The most notable of these include the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, which began in Michigan before expanding to a national competition and Hoop It Up.
• FIBA: The success of these national competitions spurred basketball’s governing body, FIBA, to experiment with its own 3x3 tournaments. The organization tested its potential in youth competitions throughout Asia and the Caribbean from 2007 to 2009. In 2010, 3x3 basketball made its debut at the Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore.
• Expansion: FIBA launched the first 3x3 World Tour and World Cups in 2012. The World Tour was an international competition featuring the best 3x3 men’s teams from cities across the globe, and slam dunk and shoot-out contests. The World Tour featured the best men’s and women’s national teams in three categories—open or no age restriction, under 23, and under 18—and slam dunk and shoot-out contests.
• Olympics: The addition of 3x3 basketball to several major international competitions, including the European Games in 2015, led to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) announcement in 2017 that 3x3 basketball for both men’s and women’s teams would be part of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
• Big3: That same year, musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz launched Big3, a 3x3 basketball league featuring former National Basketball League (NBA) and international players. The league played a variation on 3x3 rules called Fireball3, which differed from FIBA-sanctioned rules.

There are many significant differences between 3x3 basketball and 5x5 basketball rules, including:

• Pace: 3x3 basketball is a much faster-paced game than 5x5 basketball. 3x3 players compete for a single basket in a half-court arrangement that measures just forty-nine feet wide and 36 feet in length, smaller than the half-court distance for NBA and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) games. It also features a twelve-second shot clock, which requires 3x3 players to make their shots in half the time in comparison to 5x5 players.
• Game length: A reduced game length also adds to the brisk pace of 3x3 basketball. Full-court 5x5 basketball games are forty-eight minutes in length, broken into four twelve-minute quarters. A 3x3 basketball game is just ten minutes in length, and the first team to reach twenty-one points—or the team with the higher score at time—is the winning team. A tie game results in overtime, and the first team to score two points is the winner.
• Strategy: In 5x5 basketball, gameplay begins at the center court with a jump ball to determine which team gets first possession of the ball. In 3x3 basketball, a coin flip determines first possession. Both games require players to dribble or pass the ball to teammates to score a field goal or put the basketball in the basket.
• Points: Field goals in 5x5 basketball are worth two points, while 3x3 field goals are only worth one point. Field goals made at the designated arc near the basket are worth three points in 5x5 games, while shots made outside the arc in 3x3 basketball are worth two points.
• Fouls: 5x5 basketball teams get a certain number of fouls: the NBA allows four team fouls, while college and high school basketball allow five. 3x3 teams also get six team fouls. In both 5x5 and 3x3 basketball, a team receives a free throw if the opposing team exceeds its limit; 5x5 players fouled in the act of shooting get two free throws, unless the shot is successful, which earns two free throws and an extra point, while 3x3 players get two free throws if the shot is successful. If not, they receive only one free throw. Both 5x5 and 3x3 players who commit unsportsmanlike fouls, or technical fouls, are subject to disqualification from the game, but 5x5 teams get just one free throw, while 3x3 teams earn two fouls. 5x5 teams get seven timeouts per game, each lasting one minute and fifteen seconds, but in 3x3 games, each team gets one thirty-second time-out; both 5x5 and 3x3 players may call time-out in a dead ball situation, which is when the ball is not in motion due to a foul.

There are many notable 3x3 basketball games, and some of the most memorable include:

1. 1. Women’s 3x3 basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics: Team USA won the gold medal at Tokyo 2020, which marked the Olympic debut of 3x3 basketball. Led by an unstoppable foursome—WNBA superstars Jackie Young, Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, and tournament point leader Kelsey Plum—the US women’s team bested silver medalists Russia to capture Olympic gold. The Republic of China took home the bronze medal after defeating France.
2. 2. Men’s 3x3 basketball 2019 FIBA 3x3 World Cup: Twenty men’s teams competed in the 2019 3x3 World Cup, which would allow the top three teams to advance to the 2020 Olympic Qualifying Tournament (QOT). The United States, which won two previous World Cups, easily advanced from the quarterfinals to the final round, followed by Latvia and Poland. All three qualified for the Olympic games, but Latvia emerged as the victor for 3x3’s debut as an Olympic sport.
3. 3. Mongolia vs. Australia at the 2018 Asia Cup Final: The East Asian country of Mongolia is a powerhouse in 3x3 basketball, with its men’s and women’s teams consistently placing at the top of the Official FIBA rankings. It also nearly captured the Asia Cup during the final round in 2018, when it pushed Australia into overtime with formidable play. Mongolia wasn’t able to take home the cup, but the tournament showed their dominant status in 3x3 basketball.

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