Paris 2024: Concorde celebrates urban sports, including 3×3 basketball

“Under the golden pyramid atop the Place de la Concorde obelisk, the world’s premier urban team sport, 3×3 basketball, kicked off on Tuesday, July 30th for a week-long competition. Born in the streets in the late 1980s in the wake of the booming streetball scene, this discipline was introduced to the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. The experience was repeated in Nanjing in 2014 and Buenos Aires in 2018. The sport’s immense popularity led the IOC to include 3×3 basketball in the Olympic program for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

A summer atmosphere Like rugby sevens, also featured at the Olympics, this fast-paced basketball is incredibly popular. In Paris, between games, a DJ keeps the crowd dancing and singing, providing plenty of entertainment throughout the evening.

In the stands, fans are encouraged to count down before each match in a friendly atmosphere. During the games, the music never stops, creating a summer vibe reminiscent of a French Riviera resort. “It feels like we’re on vacation, and the kids can enjoy the activities,” said a young man who came with his friends. A young woman who isn’t necessarily familiar with urban sports finds the event and the venue spectacular.

In 3×3 basketball, two teams of three players (plus one substitute) face off outdoors on half a court measuring 15 meters long by 11 meters wide. The objective is to shoot the ball into a basket with a 45 cm diameter hoop located 3.05 meters above the ground and attached to a backboard. Both teams use the same basket.

Shots are worth one point for free throws (the player is alone facing the basket, unopposed) and those scored during regular play if the player is within a line placed 6.75 meters from the hoop. Shots made outside this line are worth two points.

To win the game, a team must reach 21 points or be leading at the end of a 10-minute period. Overtime is played if the score is tied at the end of regulation, and the first team to score two points wins the game.

French teams aiming for medals For both the women’s and men’s tournaments, eight teams are grouped together, each facing the other seven. After this first round, a knockout stage begins: the top two teams advance directly to the semifinals, where they will face the winners of the play-offs between those ranked 3rd to 6th.

As the dominant nation in the men’s discipline, Serbia settled for bronze in Tokyo. The United States, who failed to qualify for the men’s tournament in Tokyo, are in Paris. As for France, the Blues finished 3rd in the 2022 World Cup and 4th in Euro 2023. The women’s team, meanwhile, has won the Euro three times (2018, 2019, 2022) as well as the World Cup in 2022, before falling in the final last year.

“We’re not just going to participate, we’re going for medals, for both teams. Maybe the biggest one. In any case, that’s what we want and that’s what we’re working towards,” said Alain Contensoux, the French Basketball Federation’s technical director, a few weeks ago. In their opening match, the French women defeated Poland 21-19 on Tuesday, July 30th.”