Here in the United States, there’s been an explosion of interest in women’s basketball. Ratings and attendance are way up: last week’s WNBA All-Star Game had a record 3.4 million viewers, two million more than the previous year. For longtime women’s basketball fans, the attention is both welcome and long overdue. This week, newcomers will get front row seats to the game’s global reach.
What the newcomers will find is immense talent, fueled by competition in thriving professional leagues in Australia, China, South Korea and across Europe. They’ll see competition fueled by familiarity: former teammates in the aforementioned leagues now having to compete against each other. Plus, nearly every country participating in the Olympics has former or current WNBA talent on their roster. Just three months ago, Napheesa Collier and Emma Meesseman won a Euroleague championship together and now they’ll battle in the in Olympic group play.
But while the international landscape is filled with incredible talent, when it comes to 5×5 women’s basketball at the Olympics, it’s Team USA all the way. That’s not me being a homer, that’s just facts.
Simply put, there has been no more dominant team in the Olympics, in any sport, men’s or women’s, than the United States women’s national basketball team. Since women’s basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, the USWNBT has won a medal in every single Olympics (the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott notwithstanding). The team has taken gold in eight of 11 tournaments, including the last seven straight. In fact, they haven’t lost a game in the Olympics since 1992. Only three players on the current roster were even alive then. Even when they get the roster wrong, this team is virtually unbeatable.
To what do I attribute the USWNBT’s dominance? Well, you know what Megan Rapinoe said: “you can’t win a championship without gays on your team” and queer women make up the majority of the team’s roster (sadly, for you aspiring Basketball Wives, they do all seem to be boo’d up). But who else is gay here…and because we’re not just here to fawn over hot athletes, I’ll break down a bit of what you can expect at the Olympics.
How the Olympics Work
Unlike with soccer, there aren’t significant differences between how the Olympics operate and, say, the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. Same number of teams, same roster sizes, same short turnaround during the group stage. The key differences are the number of groups — three at the Olympics, compared to two at the World Cup — and the length of the overall tournament (6 games in 13 days for the Olympics vs. 8 games in 10 days for the World Cup).
Ten of the nations competing in the Olympics earned their slots by competing in qualifying tournaments, while the USWNBT earned their slot by winning the 2022 World Cup. As the host nation, France earned an automatic berth. All those teams were put into four pots, according to their FIBA rankings, and groups were formed by randomly drawing one team from each pot. Here’s how the draw shook out:
Allez! 🔜 🇫🇷
The Women's Olympic Basketball groups are set for #Paris2024! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0osYCk2oh2
— FIBA (@FIBA) March 19, 2024
In the opening rounds, will face off with the other three teams in their group. The top two teams from each group are determined by classification points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a loss, 0 points for a forfeit) and, if necessary, the outcome from head-to-head match-ups. The top two third place teams, across all groups, all earn slots in the quarterfinals. Those teams are ranked by classification points and, if necessary, points differential and number of points scored.
The quarterfinals kick-off the knock-out stage and from there, it’s just survive and advance. The winners of the semifinal matches will advance to the gold medal game and the losers will play for the bronze medal. Both those games will be played on August 11.
What’s 3×3?
You’re forgiven if you’re not up to snuff on what 3×3 basketball (pronounced three-ex-three) is, after all it just debuted as an Olympic sport in 2021. The game has been around for years but FIBA (the International Basketball Federation) started formalizing it as a sport in the early 2000s. The first sanction girls’ 3×3 tournament took place in 2009 Asian Youth Games. Three years later, FIBA launched its World Cup and the game has been thriving ever since. Because 3×3 basketball is particularly beloved by young people and in urban areas, the International Olympic Committee added it to the program at the Tokyo games.
The 3×3 game is fast-paced and dynamic: one second, you’re watching a team play offense and then, the next, they’re on defense. It’s non-stop action. It requires all the players to be incredibly versatile.
The game is played with just three players (and one alternating sub) in the half-court and without an in-game coach. The ball is the same size as a WNBA ball but weighs as much as an MNBA ball. Every shot inside the arc is worth one point, while every shot outside the arc is worth two. The shot clock is just 12 seconds, half of what you’d see in a 5×5 game.
The sub can enter the game anytime during a dead ball situation — a foul, a free throw or if the ball goes out of bounds — by tagging an outgoing player. Foul shots are worth one point each. Once a team fouls more than seven times, the opponent gets an automatic two shots. If a team fouls more than nine times, their opponent gets two shots and possession of the ball.
A team wins if they’re the first team to score 21 or they’re ahead after 10 minutes of play. If the score is tied after 10 minutes the game goes into a sudden death overtime: the first team to score two points wins.
There are only 8 teams competing in the 3×3 Olympic tournament: five who have qualified via tournaments, two automatic qualifiers due to their FIBA Rankings and the host nation. The teams will play a round robin. The top two teams advance to the semifinals. Teams that finish ranked third through six will compete in play-in games to advance to the semis. The winners of the semifinals advance to the gold medal game, the losers play for bronze.
It’s a great time to get familiar with 3×3 basketball because, in January, a new domestic league called Unrivaled is launching in the United States, featuring 30 of your favorite players.
WHO ALL’S GAY HERE?: BBALL EDITION
Amy Atwell (Australia)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Kahleah Copper (United States)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Copper plays for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
Paula Ginzo (Spain)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Chelsea Gray (United States)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Chelsea Gray plays for the Las Vegas Aces.
Brittney Griner (United States)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Brittney Griner plays for the Phoenix Mercury. She and her wife, Cherelle, just had a baby!
Jewell Loyd (United States)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Jewell Loyd plays for the WNBA’s Seattle Storm.
Anneli Maley (Australia)
Event: 3×3 Basketball
Anneli Maley plays for the Perth Lynx of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL).
Tayra Melendez (Puerto Rico)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Tayra plays for the Gigantes de Carolina in Puerto Rico.
Mariona Ortiz (Spain)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Alexis Peterson (Germany)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Isalys Quinones (Puerto Rico)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Sofía Roma (Puerto Rico)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Breanna Stewart (United States)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Stewart plays for the New York Liberty. Her wife, Marta Xargay Casademont, is a former player for the Phoenix Mercury and the Spanish National Team.
Diana Taurasi (United States)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
‘Taurasi plays for the Phoenix Mercury. Her wife, Penny Taylor, also a former Mercury player, played for the Australian National Team’s silver-medal-winning Olympics squad in 2004 and 2008.
Alyssa Thomas (United States)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
‘Alyssa Thomas plays for the Connecticut Sun. So does her fiancee, DeWanna Bonner.
Ali Wilson (Australia)
Event: 3×3 Basketball
Ali Wilson plays for the Perth Lynx of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) in Australia, and is dating her Lynx teammate, Amy Atwell.
Sami Whitcomb (Australia)
Event: 5×5 Basketball
Marena Whittle (Australia)
Event: 3×3 Basketball
Did I miss any gay ballers? Post your additions in the comments!
Does this mean what I think it means….
A’ja Wilson is straight.
Why is God so cruel sometimes.
When it comes to A’ja, I try to remind myself that “Love is love.”
(Followed immediately by reminding myself that Candace Parker used to date men as well.)
Amy Atwell who you mention as a partner, is now in the Australian 5×5 team. She replaced the injured Bec Allen yesterday.
I hadn’t heard that Bec Allen was out. I hate that so much…she’s one of my favorite shooters.
I hope she recovers quickly.
Amy Atwell who you mention as a partner, is now in the Australian 5×5 team. She replaced the injured Bec Allen yesterday.