3X3 Olympic Women's Basketball, who is MVP?

[nwhoopfan]

I think it really depended on which game/s you watched. At various times Dolson, Gray and Plum were all clearly the best player on their team. But ya'll know I'm biased so no doubt about who I'd vote for if I had a vote.

 

[Orangutan]

I think it really depended on which game/s you watched. At various times Dolson, Gray and Plum were all clearly the best player on their team.

This.

But if forced I would say Stef because she was the centerpiece of the offensive strategy.

Other countries had better offensive sets, especially Russia who really hurt us with the screen game. But the US had the trump card of dumping it down low to Stef which covered up for having less team chemistry.

But certainly much praise is due to Plum's shot creation and Gray's incredible hustle, rebounding and defense (those chasedown blocks!)

Jackie gets the award for "best performance by a player who interrupted her Florida vacation to play a game she hadn't played in two years"

 

[Plebe]

Well, I made the grave mistake of peeking at McGraws Bench to see what was being said about the big win. I guess in my moment of giddiness I temporarily forgot why I have zero respect for most domers, present company excepted. What a cesspool.

A hearty "hear hear" to @Orangutan's recognition of each player for their massive contributions to the success of this team. Losing a player to Covid at the very last minute would've been a devastating blow to almost any team, but this team showed, above all, tremendous grit and perseverance.

Stef Dolson at age 29 has gotten herself in the best shape of her life. Her presence in the paint was crucial, and she was the player whose absence was most acutely felt whenever she rotated out. She's also apparently the only one of the four who knows how to set a screen

I'm already on record raving about Gray's tremendous play in this tournament. Her rebounding and blocks were highlight-worthy and she seemed to always come up big in the clutch.

Plum was hot and cold with her outside shot, but she really impressed with her shifty change-of-pace drives, and her defense has improved tremendously. I again want to acknowledge her amazing mental and physical feat of returning from a torn achilles sustained just 13 months ago to win a gold medal in this very physically demanding format.

Nothing but respect and appreciation for Young, who was on vacation in Florida 11 days ago when she "got the call". Here's what Stef had to say:

"Katie Lou was a huge part of our team," Dolson said. "She’s a shooter, she’s a defender, she’s long. There were some scary moments when we heard about it, but when we found out Jackie was coming – she’s an amazing defender, she can pass the ball, she has great composure, and she (showed) all that."​

​

'My life changed like that': From vacation to Tokyo Olympics, Jackie Young wins 3-on-3 gold

WNBA player Jackie Young had her vacation cut short after a late call to join U.S. 3-on-3 basketball team at the Olympics. Now she has a gold medal.

www.usatoday.com

 

[nwhoopfan]

She's also apparently the only one of the four who knows how to set a screen

She must've been loving the difference between 3X3 and WNBA. It's gotten really hard to set a screen without getting a foul called on you anymore. Not in 3X3. She set a pick on somebody in the Gold Medal game, probably would've been an illegal block in the NFL, but it was all good in this game.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think you can make a case for Stef, Alisha, or Kelsey as the MVP. Kelsey was the leading scorer. She hit some from the arc and had some nice takes to the hoop. Alisha hit some from the arc, defended, and blocked shots. Stef seemed to be the key player based on her size. She rebounded and defended well and was tough to stop inside. Jackie was put in a tough spot and did ok replacing Lou. I was looking for the player who beat us in the Final Four but didn't see her.

 

[Jingo]

Plum got them off to a gr8 start in the gold medal game .. unguardable .. my MVP!

 

[ochoopsfan]

If you like the 3 x 3 games there is a new tournament this weekend in Klaipeda Lithuania.
The link is below.
Only the USA has a team entered, for countries that were in the Olympics.
The USA team is made up of Cierra Burdick, Linnae Harper, Alexis Peterson and Breanna Richardson.

Overview | FIBA 3x3 Women's Series Klaipeda Stop 2021

womensseries.fiba3x3.com

By the way, most of the qualifying points the USA Olympic players had amassed came from a tournament in December 2019 thru January 2020. The tournament was in Pittsburgh, PA. Besides the 4 USA Olympic players that played in Pittsburgh, I saw Clarendon and Kelly Farris playing on some teams. I am sure there were others, just didnt see other names.

I would think the Fiba 3x3 site on You Tube might show this event.

USA wins the Fiba 3x3 tournament in Lithuania.

Former 3x3 world champion (in 2014) Cierra Burdick led all scorers and rebounders in the final (8 and 7) and got a little help from Breanna Richardson, who scored the buzzer beater on a tough contested drive.

Rarely had we seen such a versatile and team-oriented squad on the Women’s Series: three of their players ranked in the top 5 in the coring (Linnae Harper and Alexis Peterson tied at second with 27 points, Burdick fifth with 25).

Former 3x3 world champion (in 2014) Cierra Burdick led all scorers and rebounders in the final (8 and 7) and got a little help from Breanna Richardson, who scored the buzzer beater on a tough contested drive.

USA win their first-ever FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series event in Klaipeda

KLAIPEDA (Lithuania) – The United States won the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series Klaipeda Stop at the end of a nail-biting overtime final against Spain (19-17) in Klaipeda, Lithuania on July 30-31, 2021.

womensseries.fiba3x3.com

There is a Red Bull 3x3 tournament this weekend in the DC area.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Even after beating world no. 1 France in the qualifying tournament the US was
seeded 8th even behind Mongolia.

Who did the seeding for this tournament?

The good news is that the round robin format makes the seedings moot. Even Japan beating them in round robin game 7 did not matter as they were eliminated in the quarterfinals.