From the Olympics to the Asian Games, there are many multi-nation tournaments that encourage athletes wanting to make a mark, and 3×3 Basketball is one of the fastest-growing sports to benefit from this global stage. The Commonwealth Games has a special place in this list, as it is not only competitive but also inclusive. Countries like Northern Ireland and Wales get to represent their flags, breaking the shackles of the United Kingdom. Little-known nations like the 2026 CWG debutants Gabon and Togo made the world notice them.
The inclusivity is not just with nations but also with sports, as they integrated Para-sports with the original event. Glasgow 2026 saw 3×3 Basketball over the traditional basketball event.
One common trait with these sports is the fast nature of the sports, which has become the trend these days. Fans across every sport have taken a liking towards the fast-paced formats. T20 Cricket is the biggest example, which sees fans throng in numbers to the stadium and the revenues filling the pockets over most bilateral Test Cricket. Basketball, despite being a game of speed, has found a liking for a new format which is faster, crisper, and quicker than the traditional game.
Origin of 3×3 Basketball
The origin of the format comes from the streets of the United States, where informal basketball games were often played with a single basket in smaller groups. Sports have a tendency to get competitive, be it in a street game or an international tournament. Slowly, the game started gaining traction with the one-sided hoop. With rules like 10 minutes for a game and a 21-point target, the matches got quicker, and it got the attention of the viewers. It’s like fans wanting to watch a Super Over in cricket whenever a match is tied because of the excitement it creates.
3×3 Basketball also gave opportunities for new players to represent their national sides, as many traditional 5-on-5 players continue to focus on the conventional format while 3×3 has developed its own specialist athletes and ranking system.
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With FIBA officially developing and standardising the format before introducing it at the 2010 Youth Olympics, its inclusion in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 gave the format the biggest boost. Suddenly, a format which was played on the streets only for fun became an Olympic sport, and one could play to win a gold medal for the nation. Every nation has started adopting it, and it has grown immensely, as people call it the world’s No. 1 urban team sport.
Para-Track in CWG – A Sign of Inclusivity
Para-track events are all about inclusivity. It breaks the barrier that athletes with disabilities need support to carry on their day-to-day activities. But these para-athletes perform at the highest level, defying physical limitations to get laurels for their nation. Around the early 2010s, there were discussions about the inclusion of para-athletes in competitions with able-bodied athletes. The story of Oscar Pistorius during the 2012 London Olympics was a well-documented one, as he competed with able-bodied athletes in the 400m. But things have changed, not only in the importance of including para-sports but also with introducing different classifications based on the type and extent of an athlete’s impairment.
Let’s say if we consider only the 100m sprint race, the para-track event has multiple classifications to ensure fair competition among athletes with similar functional abilities. This has opened the avenue for many para-athletes whose participation has grown significantly over the last decade.
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Future of Sports – Is Expectations of Fans Impacting the Formats
Fans have also been interested in watching track events because of the speed at which they are completed. A 100m sprint could be completed in seconds, and it gets the adrenaline rushing for the fans also. Even before the rapid growth of live streaming platforms, the men’s 100m finals at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics attracted massive global television audiences. Today, with multiple ways to watch the game, the popularity has seen massive growth.
The biggest talking point is the pattern associated with these sports. With this generation moving towards Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, it can be argued that younger audiences increasingly prefer crisp and quicker forms of entertainment. The way sports like 3×3 Basketball and Para-track events are watched is in line with the current trend, and maybe every sport has to ask a question: do they have to create a format to match the expectations of this generation?
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