Team USA Men Fail To Qualify In New Olympic Basketball Sport
It’s not often we see Team USA fail at any basketball event, but the American 3-on-3 men’s basketball squad did just that on Sunday.
Team USA fell 21-16 to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the 3×3 qualifying event in Austria today. As a result, the current world champs will miss the Tokyo Games this summer.
This will be the first Olympics in which 3×3 basketball will be contested as a medal sport. Even though Team USA won the World Cup two years ago, that did not enable them to automatically qualify for the Olympics.
“Team USA failed to earn an automatic berth in 2019 despite its World Cup victory because 3×3 Olympic spots are determined differently than in the 5×5 competition, where the World Cup champs gain automatic entry,” writes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Team USA, current world champs, got upset by Netherlands in 3×3 basketball Olympic Qualifier and failed to get a bid for Tokyo. This year is first time 3×3 is an Olympic sport https://t.co/UN3v4uDHUv
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) May 30, 2021
Team USA’s 3×3 squad for the Olympic qualifying featured a number of recognizable names, including former Purdue star Robbie Hummel and ex-Drake and Minnesota forward Joey King.
The Tokyo Games, originally scheduled for 2020 but pushed back due to COVID-19, are scheduled to run from July 23-August 8.
The post Team USA Men Fail To Qualify In New Olympic Basketball Sport appeared first on The Spun.
