Everything You Need to Know About 3-on-3 Basketball

Check ball: 3-on-3 basketball is back on the world stage after debuting in Tokyo in 2021. Allisha Gray, a guard for the Atlanta Dream, represented the U.S. on the squad that took home gold. For Allisha, 3-on-3 is a mix of traditional strategy, unrelenting pace and quick thinking. As she prepares for Paris, we asked her to give us the rundown on the game’s basic rules and the important differences that make 3-on-3 distinct from the traditional 5-on-5. 

It’s a 10-minute game played by ones and twos. There are seven fouls, it’s two free throws, and once you get to 10 fouls, it’s two free throws and the ball back. The winner is the first team to 21 or whoever is leading by the end of 10 minutes. 

It’s a continuous game and always fast paced. The shot clock is just 12 seconds. You have no time to stand around and catch your breath. It’s either offense or straight back to defense after the other team clears the ball beyond the 3-point line. After a scored basket, the game keeps going. 

Spacing is very important. In 3-on-3 basketball, it’s much harder to give help side defense. There’s very little double-teaming because it’s almost impossible to rotate from the top of the key down to the baseline, or vice versa. 

On offense, you don’t want to be on top of your teammate because you’re stopping her from getting to the basket, and your defender can guard two players at once. In 5-on-5, you usually have a post player camped out on the block, so you could drive and accidentally collide with them. But if you’re spacing out the floor, you’re forcing your defender to make a decision on who to cover.