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≡ THE BIG PICTURE ≡
“[I]f you would separate 3×3 social media following and would say ‘what would this be if it were a standalone International Federation?,’ it would be the fifth biggest international Sports Federation of the Summer Olympics, based on our metrics today. So, you see that 3×3 is having its own success, not piggybacking on the success of [5×5] basketball.”
That’s from International Basketball Federation Secretary General Andreas Zagklis (GRE) during a Monday online news conference, wrapping up an excellent year for international basketball.
He also pointed to better competition in the 5×5 game, with 12 teams playing in the Paris Olympic Games, but many more involved:
● “We managed, thanks to the [men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments], to have again 32 teams involved: 24 plus the eight that had already qualified on the floor. You see that the gap is closing, we had favorites struggling, favorites losing, and certainly what we saw in the [international play] Windows is the top 50 getting closer to each other. We saw in the Olympics that also the top 20 – the top 12, in this case – virtually, everyone can beat everyone.”
● “For the women’s side, what we believe is a golden decade that opened after the 2022 World Cup in Australia, it’s where we believe basketball scored so highly. This year, in the [Olympic Qualifying Tournaments] in February, 13,000 in Antwerp, a record of all-time for a women’s team sport in Belgium, in a game against the U.S.A. that went to the wire. And the same happened in the Olympics with a final determined by a last-second shot [where the U.S. defeated France, 67-66].”
But Zagklis would also like to see more Olympic spots for 3×3, with eight teams playing in Paris for men and women:
“[Twelve] teams is what we would like to see also in L.A., or latest in Brisbane [2032], but we are already applying for that for 2028.
“The numbers we have received so far from Paris 2024 are very encouraging. The TV figures in France, Germany, Netherlands have been fantastic, and it’s not every day that you can see a 3×3 basketball player on the front page of political newspapers in their countries.
“We do believe that 3×3 makes our sport more democratic, allows countries of smaller population and countries with less infrastructure to have the Olympic dream alive and have it very accessible. That is why we believe that we will open the door for more African teams to develop, and certainly I expect African teams to fight for a spot in L.A.”
FIBA has placed a lot of effort in its social media programming, completely revamping its Web site to be mobile-first and running feeds on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube, plus Chinese sites Douyin and Weibo. The results have been spectacular, as Zagklis explained:
“So we have now more than 57 million followers on all platforms, and we had five billion views on our social media, while last year we had six billion views, certainly something that the Central Board last week discussed, and we continue to believe in the showcase and certainly outreach potential that the Olympics give to the basketball side, our sport and we are very happy about that, at the same time, knowing that the [FIBA] World Cup is the priority of this house.”
Zagklis was asked about the status of Russian participation, which has been essentially closed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022:
“When it comes to participation, the [FIBA] Central Board decided last Thursday to extend the current status until the Central Board in May, when we will have the Congress. There are continuous and active talks with the Russian Basketball Federation. The Federation, I remind you, as well as the Belarus one, are not suspended. They have their active status, and the Central Board includes [Russian federation head] Andrei Kirilenko, who was confirmed in this role already last year, so after February 2022, and he’s a respected member of the FIBA family.
“There is no doubt that we need to wait for the bigger geopolitical picture. As important as we may consider basketball to be, unfortunately, in this case there are many more important things than basketball to take care of. There are lives being lost on a daily basis and there are peace talks or a road to peace that we all want to see happening and a peaceful result achieved. …
“Our job is to try, within the remit of our competence, to bring all 212 Member Federations to participate actively in our competitions. We are following closely what is happening in football.
“You have seen that Belarus continues to play in UEFA competitions without major issues. So, this is for us something difficult to digest, if I may use this word, because the young boys and girls in Belarus can play football, but not basketball. So this shows that there is some room here for us to analyze the situation further. But, right now, we are in a framework of IOC guidelines that FIBA has accepted and has agreed to work under.
“So we will see, and I would say that we will have developments when there are also advances on the geopolitical side and our priority will be the young players. And will it be in Europe? Will it be with those in Europe that Russia can play, and Belarus? Will it be with Asia? Will it be with a combination of the two? I’m telling you we are ready for a good solution, for basketball and for the youth of Russia and Belarus. That is our job.
“But there are others who need to take more important decisions first, and then I can tell you FIBA will do its job.”
As for Los Angeles and 2028, the 5×5 venue has already been announced as the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, but the 3×3 site has not yet been presented:
“L.A. is the city of ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ for those who love our sport, therefore, there is little doubt that 3×3 will be followed very closely, and loved by the local audience. We already had our first meetings with L.A. 2028.
“Soon we will be in a position with them to announce the final location and I think the experiment, if I may say for Olympic purposes – but not experiment for FIBA, because we had done it before – of bringing action sports, urban sports together has worked very well in Paris, and perhaps we can see something similar in L.A. I expect, in the country that has invented our sport, I expect 3×3 to really go to the next level in L.A. 2028.”
One concern is over the timing of the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in 2028, as the Olympic Games will open on 14 July, exceptionally early. So FIBA plans to have four qualifying tournaments for men and women, with six teams each, on a tight schedule and Zagklis noted that with the discussions already underway in December of 2024, including with the NBA, there is time to resolve all of the questions.
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