3×3 basketball has long been a popular format, played casually on streets and in gyms around the world. However, it wasn’t until the late 1980s that the game began to take on a more structured form, with standardized rules emerging in the United States. This was largely due to the influence of major tournament series like Gus Macker and Hoop It Up, which organized events across the country for players of all skill levels. In 1992, Adidas launched a prominent streetball competition that further helped raise the profile of 3×3, though this series has since been discontinued. From then on, the popularity of 3×3 basketball steadily grew, with more events and competitions popping up globally.
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) recognized the potential of 3×3 and began formally testing the format. The first official test event was held at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games in Macau, followed by additional test events in the Dominican Republic and Indonesia in 2008. The true international debut of 3×3 basketball came in 2009 at the Asian Youth Games in Singapore, where 19 teams competed in the boys’ tournament and 16 teams in the girls’ tournament.
In 2010, 3×3 basketball made its worldwide competitive debut at the Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore. Twenty teams competed in both the boys’ and girls’ categories, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of the game. The success of the format at these events led FIBA to develop a full program for 3×3, establishing it as a standalone discipline with its own format and regular international competitions, including World Championships in both open and U18 categories.
The pinnacle of 3×3’s rapid growth came when it was selected to debut as an official Olympic sport at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, bringing the fast-paced and dynamic game to a global audience.