Exclusive: Jimmer Fredette wants to make ‘exhilarating’ 3×3 basketball the new flag football

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Exclusive: Jimmer Fredette wants to make ‘exhilarating’ 3×3 basketball the new flag football

Andrew Korpan, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Thu, Jul 30, 2026 ·

7 min read

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Exclusive: Jimmer Fredette wants to make 'exhilarating' 3×3 basketball the new flag football appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

Over the years, flag football has gotten big enough to be part of the Olympics , and BYU legend and former NBA star Jimmer Fredette is hoping to do the same with 3×3 basketball.

Speaking to ClutchPoints ahead of USA Basketball Foundation and RX3's charity 3×3 tournament, which will be held on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Orange County ( tickets can be purchased on the website), he talked about his aspirations for the up-and-coming sport. He sees it as a "great way to play" and "develop" young basketball players.

"I know that USA Basketball has really put in a lot of effort to the youth grassroots level for 3×3 basketball, which I think is awesome," he said. "I think that's gonna continue to get bigger, and it's gonna get better."

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Before you laugh, Fredette is adamant that 3×3 basketball is "a great way to learn the sport." For one, players "touch the ball a lot more." You can't be a one-trick pony, as 3×3 requires being able to set screens, defend screens, and defend in space. Plus, the game is played in a half-court setting, limiting the spacing.

How 3×3 differs from 5×5 basketball

He conceded that it might be easier for a traditional 5×5 player to convert to 3×3 than the other way around. He reasoned that the growing 3×3 sport requires a specific "body type."

"Some of those guys are big guys, and I don't know if I could see them sprinting up and down the court the way that they would need to," Fredette noted. "Either way, it's not gonna be a perfect transition. But the 5×5 guys, if you play it for six to eight months, they could really end up being pretty good. It just takes some time."

Still, 3×3 is "more tiring per capita" than 5×5. The games are only 10 minutes, but every second is active. You can't phone it in on any possession.

In Fredette's mind, 3×3 basketball is a "completely different sport" than what NBA fans see. Some NBA players could definitely excel at 3×3, but he thinks it'd look similar to the Fanatics Flag Football Classic . The event pits some professional flag football players against NFL legends like Tom Brady and Saquon Barkley.

"You saw that a little bit when some of the NFL guys played against the professional flag football players. Those guys just know how to play flag football, the different movements, [like] the hip jerking and all the different things that they do that you don't in professional football," he explained. "It's the same in 3×3. There's just different movements — the hip jerking, different plays, different strategy. It's a little bit more physical."

What might be considered an illegal screen in the NBA might be legal in 3×3. In the TikTok age of short attention spans, potential viewers will be thrilled to know that there's a 12-second shot clock.

Making the game accessible to the TikTok age

It's a similar concession MLB had to make with the introduction of the pitch clock, which has reached the World Baseball Classic . Fredette knows that moves like this have made some sports "easier to consume." Nowadays, some aren't even watching full games, but rather catching highlights on TikTok.

3×3 basketball is perfect for the social media age. He explained, "You can definitely have some really cool things with social media with the dunks or the really weird shots that happen. That's how people are consuming it most of the time now."

It helps that the tournaments are all-day affairs. The star-studded teams will be on throughout the day. So, if viewers don't want to watch every game, they can tune into their favorite team for 10 to 15 minutes of energetic basketball.

"These events go on all day, so you can tune into your favorite team for 10 to 15 minutes, and it's very nerve-wracking because every possession matters exponentially. When you're playing a 10-minute game or to 21, if someone hits a two-point shot, that's 10% of the scoring right there. So every possession matters. It's exhilarating to watch."

Some may think sports viewership is trending down, but Fredette feels the "actual consumption" is rising, thanks to social media. Rather than running from it, Fredette and 3×3 basketball are embracing it.

How sports could be affected to these adjustments

Could this ever go too far? There's always a chance that sports fans exclusively consume games via social media, which could affect networks and streaming services that have invested millions in broadcast rights.

"You know, it could eventually," he conceded, "I think it's kind of happening where some of the regional networks that show these games, the money may go down because they're not getting the viewership that they once were. Because of that, you could see some of that viewership go down and some of those funds from media rights going down in specific leagues or cases.

"Overall, people still love to go watch things live and in person. I think that's always gonna be there because it's such a unique thing, and people love sports to get away and watch," said Fredette.

He concluded that there will always be an appetite for the big games. However, leagues like the NBA, which feature an 82-game regular season, might have to adjust.

Things like tanking and the longevity of the season make it harder for viewers to tune in consistently. So, that might be affected, but the "TV deals for big games are so big that I don't know that's going anywhere anytime soon."

How USA Basketball, RX3 landed big NBA names for its inaugural 3×3 charity tournament

Fredette is the managing director of USA Basketball 3×3 Men's National Team. He was a natural pick to spearhead the upcoming tournament and coach.

Some really big names are involved, ranging from current players like Kevin Durant and Chet Holmgren to retired legends like Chris Bosh and Elena Delle Donne.

Luckily, Fredette didn't have to be hands-on with recruiting the big names to play. USA Basketball has "great connections" that helped land the stacked lineup. Plus, USA Basketball didn't need his help.

"I don't think they really needed my help on this one. It kind of sold itself, and I'm just really happy to be part of it," he admitted. "Even though it's a camp and a foundation event, it's for a great cause. It still brings a little bit of notoriety to the 3×3 game.

What does the future hold for Jimmer Fredette after the 3×3 basketball charity tournament?

Looking ahead, Fredette wants to help grow 3×3 basketball. He even quipped that if he could get LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Durant fully involved once they're retired from the NBA, he would "happily" take them.

More realistically, he is looking ahead to making USA Basketball and the RX3 Foundation's charity 3×3 tournament an annual event. Of course, this is the first year, so we'll have to see how it goes, though Fredette is very confident it will be a hit. Needless to say, it wouldn't take a lot to convince Fredette to come back.

"I think it would be awesome to be able to do it as an annual event," Fredette said, looking ahead. "I think people would love it. Obviously, there's a lot of different foundations that are involved, and RX3, [which] is the main driver of this.

"I think that if this year is a success, which I really think it's going to be, then I can see this happening every year and would love to be able to continue that impact in different places, to grow the sport, but also to make an impact on the communities," he concluded.

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