“Chillin on the road to recovery.” Those were Cameron Brink’s words on the social media networking platform Instagram after her ACL surgery. Brink faced a season-ending injury earlier in mid-June during a game against the Connecticut Sun. Despite taking the challenges in a positive stride, one thing Brink would regret is not getting a chance to ply her trade for the 3*3 women’s basketball Olympics team. 

Brink was initially selected for the 3*3 team but was later replaced by Dearica Hamby. The squad would for the first time get a chance to attract a lot of audiences through their clash against the U23 National Team in an exhibition game during the WNBA All-Star event. Here’s everything you need to know about the contest so that you don’t miss out on anything.

Venue and Rules

As mentioned before, the WNBA 3-pointer contest and WNBA Skills challenge will take place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The event is scheduled on July 19 and July 20 from 11 am to 7 pm PT. Those who cannot be present at the Footprint Center can enjoy the day’s proceedings on ESPN. Another important thing to note is that rules differ from the 5*5 basketball, making the league more enjoyable.

The 3*3 basketball competition has two teams plying their trade on the half-court in a 10-minute clock time. The shots within the arc help every team score one point whereas those taken from beyond the arc are worth 2 points. The format differs from the regular 5*5 basketball since the first team to reach 21 points wins the game. Supposedly, if both teams fail to reach 21 points then the one with the higher score takes home the win at the end of the final buzzer.

Since the game takes place in half court, there is only one hoop and the shot clock is 12 seconds. Plus, there is no break after scoring. The match rules are designed to excite the fans. The format caught the fancy of Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, so the duo decided to start their own 3v3 league in Miami in January of next year. Moving on, let us have a look at the participants in the league.

Participants

For the Team USA women’s 3*3 team, the four players are Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Cierra Burdick, and Hailey Van Lith. While Hamby plays for the Los Angeles Sparks, Howard plays for the Atlanta Dream. Hamby is averaging 19.4 points per game this season with 10 rebounds. She also has 3.6 assists per game. As mentioned before, she has been chosen as a replacement for Brink.

Howard represents the Atlanta Dream as a guard. She has scored 15.4 points with 4.9 rebounds per game. Apart from that she also has 3.4 assists per game. Therefore, she is expected to be a tough nut to crack in the exhibition contest.

Burdick is another player who will be exciting to watch in the game. She was a second-round pick by the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA 2015 draft. She has played for various teams including Las Vegas Aces, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, Minnesota Lynx, and Seattle Storm. Hence, it will be interesting to see how Burdick adjusts to the 3*3 team considering she last played in the WNBA in the 2021 season. 

One surprising addition to the name is that of Hailey Van Lith. Van Lith used to play for the Louisiana State University Lady Tigers before transferring to TCU Horned Frogs this season. She began her college career when she represented the Louisville Cardinals. Though Van Lith hasn’t played in the WNBA and is a college basketball star, a lot of fans must have pinned their hopes on Van Lith since she has been trained by Kim Mulkey who also honed Angel Reese’s skills.

On the other hand, the U23 3*3 squad is made of up players like Christina Dalce from Maryland, and Morgan Maly from Creighton. From the Iowa Hawkeyes, the squad will have Lucy Olsen and Mikaylah Williams from the LSU. The roster also includes Cotie McMahon from Ohio State and Serah Williams from Wisconsin. 

The United States women’s basketball team won gold when the 3*3 basketball was introduced in the Tokyo Olympics last year. This time too with the All-Star, it will be clear how well they have prepared for the Paris Olympics.

The event is sure to catch all eyes as the fans will tune in to watch one of the biggest WNBA games this season. The event will pave the way for Unrivaled since it will make the audiences accustomed to the 3*3 format. Hopefully, the better team on the day of the game will emerge victorious.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.