3x3 and what makes the Olympic urban basketball discipline so appealing

XI'AN - 3x3 has taken the world by storm the past several years, with the urban discipline so captivating for players and fans that it has risen to elite status as an Olympic sport.

As part of a panel discussion at the FIBA World Basketball Summit in Xi'an, China, some of the movers and shakers of 3x3 talked about why it has proven so appealing.

"3x3 is the new frontier of basketball," said George Raveling, the legendary NCAA coach and Nike Global Marketing Director, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

"THERE HAS BEEN MUCH DISCUSSION ABOUT REPOSITIONING BASKETBALL GLOBALLY AS THE NUMBER ONE SPORT. IF THAT IS TO BECOME A REALITY, A VEHICLE FOR CHANGE AND A GROWTH OPPORTUNITY IS 3x3. WE HAVE TO EMOTIONALLY ENGAGE WITH THE YOUNGER AUDIENCE."- Raveling

"There has been much discussion about repositioning basketball globally as the number one sport. If that is to become a reality, a vehicle for change and a growth opportunity is 3x3. What we have to do is emotionally engage with the younger audience. 3x3 is a game of liberation. If you're spinning 3x3, you have a personal freedom, a freedom of choice. No one is coaching you. Every single movement is an individual choice."

As a former coach, Raveling says playing 3x3 can make players better.

"It promotes skill development," he said. "In a 5-on-5 game for a young person, they could play the whole game and might not touch the ball, they might not shoot the ball. [It's] Impossible for a young person to play 3x3 and not touch the ball, and probably possible they might not shoot it, but the game has to be fun for the young people and I think 3x3 provides a new opportunity for young people to emotionally engage in the game."

Myagmarjav Luvsandash, a promoter of 3x3 in Mongolia, has seen how it can be a game-changer with respect to basketball's prestige in a country.

"3x3 IS A WAY OF GETTING INTO NEW MARKETS AND GIVING COUNTRIES THAT DON'T HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN AT 5-on-5 A CHANCE TO WIN (AT 3x3)."-  Luvsandash

"Mongolia is a landlocked country between China and Russia. We have a 3.1 million population but a huge land, three times bigger than the size of France. If you travel east to west, it's 3,000 kilometers," he pointed out. "So, for sport, Mongolia is more into individual sports. We're good at judo, wrestling, sumo wrestling, shooting, so we have four or five medals every Olympics. Per capita, its a big number but it's never been as big for team sports.

“So we have been developing 3x3 for the last 13 years. We call it street ball but continue organizing events for the youth. It's a simple achievement that we have done so far but our teams in the categories are performing well. The investment we are making is paying off. There is still a long way to go but in terms of world ranking, in terms of the team's performance at the continental level and world level, we’re doing well, much better than many other countries.

"3x3 is a way of getting into new markets and giving countries that don’t have a chance to win at 5-on-5 a chance to win (at 3x3)."

Vlad Constantinescu, managing partner Sport Arena Streetball in Romania, where 3x3 has a very strong presence, went from building basketball courts to organizing events.

He explained why.

"N 2005, WE ORGANIZED OUR FIRST 3-ON-3 EVENT. WE HAD 32 TEAMS. IN 2013, WE ORGANIZED IN BUCHAREST IN FRONT OF THE SECOND BIGGEST CIVILIAN BUILDING IN THE WORLD AN IOC SHOWCASE AND WE HAD MORE THAN 300 TEAMS. SO IN LESS THAN 10 YEARS, WE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF TEAMS BY 10."- Constantinescu

"In 2004, Sport Arena, was a new company and our main goal was to build sport facilities, not necessarily 3x3," he said. "Our main focus was on basketball. We have build a few (courts). But after this, we had four or five very nice outdoor courts (5-on-5) and we were wondering, what can we do with it? 5-on -5 was not so well developed in Romania, so we said, 'Okay, let's try to do street ball events at that time in order to check the demand'.

"In 2005, we organized our first 3-on-3 event. We had 32 teams. In 2013 we organized in Bucharest in front of the second biggest civilian building in the world, an IOC showcase and we had more than 300 teams. So in less than 10 years, we increased the number of teams by 10. For Romania, it was a very, very important advantage, streetball, 3x3, started. In 2014, Romania became for the first time in our history, the first European 3x3 champion."

One of the challenges for 3x3 is getting sponsorship.

Raveling says that the largest amount of basketball participants are in the 8-14 age range and describes them as "basketball orphans because they get very little attention", particularly from a corporate perspective.

"So as we continue into the future, all corporations are going to grapple with 'how do we emotionally and sustainably connect with this younger demographic?'" he said. "And the reality is this: we're in competition for mind space with those 8- to 14-year-olds.

"When I grew up, I was an outdoor kid. My mom and grandma sent us outdoors to play. Today, we're raising indoor kids. So we're now in competition as a sport to gain their attention.

"In 3x3, in my mind, is a great opportunity to grow participation numbers."

"AS WE CONTINUE INTO THE FUTURE, ALL CORPORATIONS ARE GOING TO GRAPPLE WITH 'HOW DO WE EMOTIONALLY AND SUSTAINABLY CONNECT WITH THIS YOUNGER DEMOGRAPHIC?' AND THE REALITY IS THIS: WE'RE IN COMPETITION FOR MIND SPACE WITH THOSE 8- TO 14-YEAR-OLDS."- Raveling

Raveling also referred to the potential impact of 3x3 on women's basketball, and Pacific Rim countries. He referred to Rae Lin D'Alie, the MVP of the FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2018.

"I believe like this young lady is overt evidence of what I have said a number of times at Nike meetings," he’s said. "The biggest recipient of 3x3 is going to be women's basketball.

"All those countries that reside along the Pacific Rim that inherently don't grow tall people, this is a golden opportunity for them. I think India is a virgin territory right now. They are probably 20 years behind in 5-on-5 but you can make immediate, meaningful penetration into India with 3x3.

"So I think there are unique opportunities that this game brings to a corporate structure. It's a newfound audience that is on tap. So what we have to do is take down the fences and not think traditionally but think as a maverick. This is a great growth opportunity from a growth standpoint."

So why does 3x3 work for sponsors in Mongolia and also as a media product?

"Year round, 10,000 kids are participating in the event (3x3), which is a big number for the population," Luvsandash said. "3x3 is not just sport, but entertainment."

Constantinescu stressed that combining entertainment with 3x3 was key to the success it has achieved and also to its future growth.

"During all of our events, we have a lot of entertainment acts, with spectator involvement," he said. "For us, this interactivity between the organizers and the spectators is crucial. Maybe this is the reason 3-on-3 became so popular. 

"What we are doing is a family event. We are not weighting all of our events just for the players. FIBA perfectly understood this aspect and they are developing this discipline accordingly."

Raveling believes 3x3 has a bright future and that FIBA was right to emphasize its importance to basketball.

"I think FIBA has done an extraordinary job of positioning 3x3 as a vehicle that can take us into the future," he said.

Luvsandash also spoke on how going digital has helped the sport in Mongolia. He cited the FIBA 3x3 ranking that allows players to look  at scores.

"The players, young people, men and women, everyone is looking at their score after the competition," he said. "So they follow 'Who's in front of me? How many scores I got?' It encourages young people to play as many events as possible. The good thing is the event comes to you. You don't have to go to the stadium. It comes to the city. You have applications on the web, you create the event, you have the stats add scores."

Constantinescu also highlighted the need to have famous personalities involved.

"What we need in order to grow this discipline is to have very, very well known idols, iconic players," he said. "In order to have all this, we need to have good events, good sponsors, good visibility, very good social media so if we can have all this together, for sure in two, three, four years, 3x3 will be huge, much, much better than now."

FIBA