'Jimmermania' lives on with U.S. gold in 3x3 basketball at Pan American Games
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Jimmer Fredette, a different kind of basketball globetrotter, continues to draw attention even far from the NBA. At age 34, the three-point shot master led the United States 3x3 team to a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Santiago on Monday and started setting his mind to the Paris Olympics.
The few thousand locals watching the U.S. team play host Chile in the men's final were not too keen on “Jimmermania" at the start, but their hearts eventually softened for Fredette and his teammates. In his NBA days, he played for Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns. The American team of Fredette, Kareem Maddox and Canyon Barry won 21-15.
Point guard Fredette transitioned over a year ago to the half-court Olympic event, which had its debut in Tokyo with no U.S. team on the court. Since he embraced 3x3 basketball, the player from Glen Falls, New York, set his sights on the first American gold medal in Paris in the sport that reminds him of his childhood.
“I played with my brother, we were always shooting baskets, I was always dribbling on the side. This is a bit like that, too,” Fredette told journalists in Santiago after his team's victory. “I learned to play basketball in the streets, in the parks. It is a bit of full circle to win in 3x3.”
When Fredette finished high school, he received offers from 12 schools. He picked Brigham Young University, where he stood out as a scorer, became a college basketball star and a 3-point shooter respected by his peers. Jimmermania appeared after a victory against San Diego State, in which he scored 43 points. From then on, fans carried signs saying teams he scored against had been “Jimmered.”
The No. 10 pick of the 2011 NBA draft did not succeed as much in the professional league, but in Santiago he sounded calm about that.
“I am here now,” Fredette said.
Fredette left the NBA in 2016 to play for China's Shanghai Sharks and stayed for three years. After a brief time with the Suns, he joined Panathinaikos in Greece between 2019-2020. He has been out of a contract since he left his old team in China after the 2020-2021 season.
“I just love the Olympics, I watch it all. Getting there with these guys would be a massive thing,” Fredette said. He is already dreaming of a rematch against Serbia, who defeated the U.S. at this year's 3x3 world cup final in Vienna.
“This gold does serve as a booster,” he said.
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