United States 3×3 basketball guard Jimmer Fredette revealed Sunday the injury that forced him out of the squad’s final five games at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Fredette, the No. 1-ranked 3×3 player in the world, suffered a previously unknown injury in Team USA’s game against Poland on Wednesday, July 31, and missed the remainder of that game along with the next five matches. The United States finished 2-5 overall in group play of the tournament, failing to make the knockout stage along alongside China (1-6).
Fredette, 35, was the No. 10 overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft out of BYU, where he was one of the brightest stars in college basketball in recent memory. He bounced around multiple NBA rosters before settling in as an international pro in China and Greece.
As a senior in 2011, Fredette averaged 28.9 points per game, shooting 39.6% from 3-point range on 8.5 attempts per game. He was a consensus first-team All-America selection and swept college basketball player of the year awards in 2010-11.
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Here’s what Fredette said about his Olympics ending injury:
Jimmer Fredette injury update
‘I had an injury that took place in the beginning minutes of our second game against Poland,’ Fredette wrote on Instagram. ‘I tore two different ligaments completely in my adductor, which prevented me from being able to compete. This will lead me to have a recovery of around 6 months.’
Fredette, the No. 1-ranked player in the world based on 3×3’s point system, was the leader of the United States’ No. 1-ranked team that was only one of two teams (China) to not make the knockout stage of the Olympic tournament.
‘This is devastating for me as I have put two years into qualifying for the Olympics with this group who are my brothers,’ Fredette wrote. ‘In that time, we went from a no-name team to the No. 1 team in the world this year — and did things that no American team has ever done. I also became the No. 1 ranked player in the world on the same day I was injured. Pretty crazy coincidence. But we were fully prepared and excited to make a medal run here in Paris.’
