Jimmer Fredette is going to the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer as part of the USA Basketball 3-on-3 men’s national team. It’s the first time the U.S. has sent a men’s 3-on-3 team to the Olympics.
He was one of four players named to the team on Tuesday, March 26, USA Basketball announced. Joining Fredette are teammates Canyon Barry, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis. The roster was selected by the USA Basketball 3-on-3 Men’s National Team Committee.
“It’s official! I have been selected to be a member of team USA’s first Olympic 3-on-3 basketball team along side three other players I consider family in Dylan, Canyon, and Kareem. There has been a lot that has gone into this process for a year and a half now for me and many more years for my teammates. So grateful to be able to represent our country in Paris! Now the real work begins. Couldn’t be more thrilled to prepare and give it my all for USA!” Fredette, a former BYU basketball star with several years of professional experience and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shared on Instagram.
He was named college basketball’s player of the year following his senior season of “Jimmermania” at BYU. He was a lottery pick in the 2011 NBA draft and became an international superstar in China. He is now competing in the world of 3-on-3 professional basketball and was named the USA Basketball’s 2023 3x3 Male Athlete of the Year in 2023.
The squad has been competing together with USA Basketball since the 2022 FIBA 3-on-3 Men’s AmeriCup, where it won gold. It also won the gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games and silver at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup. It is currently No. 2 in the world rankings, behind Serbia, according to the Associated Press.
Fredette and his wife, Whitney Fredette, recently presented about preserving memories on FamilySearch during the RootsTech 2024 family history conference. Jimmer Fredette also shot baskets with and offered tips to young children.
3-on-3 at the Olympics
The sport debuted in the Olympics at the 2020 Tokyo Games, and the U.S. didn’t qualify for men’s 3-on-3 then, the Associated Press reported.
The Americans won gold in women’s 3-on-3 that summer (the Games were in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic delays and precautions), as well as in traditional men’s and women’s basketball.
The 3-on-3 game is played on a half-court with a 12-second shot clock and play is fast. Baskets are worth one or two points, depending on where the shot is taken, and the winner is either the first team to 21 points or the leader when the 10-minute clock expires. Games rarely take the full 10 minutes, the Associated Press reported.
The 2024 Paris Olympic Summer Games are July 26 through Aug. 11. The 2024 Summer Paralympic Games are Aug. 28 through Sept. 8.
Latter-day Saints in the Olympics
Earlier this year, two former BYU distance runners qualified to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Summer Games. Conner Mantz and Clayton Young — who are friends, training partners, former BYU runners and Latter-day Saint returned missionaries — claimed spots on the team when they were first and second, respectively, at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, Feb. 3.
In the Tokyo Olympics, 15 athletes connected to the Church competed, and five won medals. At the Paralympics, a dozen athletes competed, and three won medals. At both Games, athletes also set records for their countries.
The Church News would like to highlight athletes who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics Games in July and August. If there is an athlete the Church News should watch for, please send his or her information — including name, country and event — to churchnews@deseretnews.com.
