Jimmer Fredette Banged Up As Team USA 3×3 Falls To Poland At Olympics
Jul 31, 2024, 3:33 PM
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 31: (EDITORS NOTE: Image was captured using a robotic camera positioned above the field of play.) Jimmer Fredette #5 of Team United States drives to the basket against Team Poland during a Men's Pool Round match on day five of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Esplanade Des Invalides on July 31, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
PARIS – Team USA 3×3 has dropped to 0-2 in Pool Play at the Paris Olympic Games.
The latest setback took place on Wednesday night against Poland. USA suffered a wire-to-wire defeat to Poland, 19-17.
Team USA was down 19-17 with 27.3 seconds remaining. Fredette took a contested two to try to tie it, but it hit off the rim.
Poland missed a shot on the following possession but got the offensive board.
Ball game.
Team USA falls to 0-2 in pool play.#Olympics #Paris2024 #3×3…
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) July 31, 2024
Cold shooting from beyond the arc sunk the American team led by former BYU star Jimmer Fredette, who played through an injury late in the game.
Jimmer Fredette was banged up late in the game
With less than three minutes left in the game, Fredette was on the sideline being attended to by a trainer. The trainer appeared to be looking at Fredette’s left thigh or groin.
He did return to the court shortly after, but he wasn’t playing at full strength.
Jimmer Fredette left the court after the USA vs Poland #3×3 game with a trainer and walked straight past our interview area. That’s why there is no one on this shot. No report on the injury but his teammate Kareem Maddox told me he’s not worried, “Jimmer’s a warrior.”@kslsports pic.twitter.com/5B97ZUiWk9
— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_TV) July 31, 2024
It showed late in the game, with Team USA down 19-17 with 27.3 seconds remaining. Fredette attempted a contested two-pointer to tie the game, but it clanked off the rim, giving Poland the victory.
Fredette’s late miss embodied the shooting woes for Team USA the entire night.
Poland defeats Team USA, 19-17
Team USA shot 15% from two-point range, only hitting two of their 15 attempts. The only two makes from beyond the arc were by Dylan Travis in the same spot from the wing.
Poland didn’t shoot much better in the turnover-filled game. They hit four of their 13 attempts. However, the impact of some of the makes kept Team USA behind the entire game.
The 🇺🇸 #3x3MNT falls to 🇵🇱 Poland.
A pair of contests tomorrow against 🇱🇹 Lithuania (1:05 pm ET) & 🇱🇻 Latvia (5:05 pm ET). pic.twitter.com/DLwbnwxRNR
— USA Basketball 3×3 (@usab3x3) July 31, 2024
Poland’s Przemyslaw Zamojski knocked down a two to extend their lead back to three (11-8) after USA made a run to get within one.
Fredette finished with three points. He was 3-4 from 1-point attempts and 0-4 from beyond the arc.
While dealing with the injury, Fredette was attacked by Poland in pick-and-roll situations as they looked to create mismatches. Fredette battled, creating two defensive stops late in the game.
Ultimately, Team USA’s ice-cold shooting sunk them, as they fell to 0-2 in pool play at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Canyon Barry and Dylan Travis led Team USA in scoring with six points each. Barry kept Team USA in the game late, thanks to his perfect underhand touch from the free throw line. He was a perfect 4-of-4 in the game.
USA falls to last place, games remaining in Olympics pool play
USA now falls to last place with Lithuania as the only teams in the Men’s Pool to open the Olympic Games with a 0-2 record.
The top two teams in the eight-team pool will advance to the Semifinal round later this week.
Team USA has opportunities to climb the standings. Tomorrow, they take on Lithuania at 11 a.m. (MT) and then first-place Latvia at 3:05 p.m. (MT).
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
