Three-by-three cheers

Visiting India to be a part of the NBA Jam 3×3 Basketball Tournament,were former NBA stars,Peja Stojakovic,Horace Grant and Ron Harper this last weekend. All three claim to have played the shorter format in their youth while developing their skills in the game. Yet the visiting trio still hold the five-a-side format as the better game. “It’s a good game to generate the anger and passion for basketball,” says Stojakovic,who has never played the shorter format professionally. “The good thing about it is that it gives the players the drive to win and do well. But it is just for the start in basketball,” he adds.

Harper,a five-time NBA champion states that the 3×3 game is much faster than the original 5×5 format. “You don’t get much time to think or innovate. Which means you have to make sure your basics are right.” Another former NBA champion Grant,who has represented the NBA in 3×3 tournaments in Australia and Africa,agrees with his fellow NBA legend. “It’s a faster game than the normal one,” he says. “It teaches you to play faster in terms of passing the ball and moving off the ball. It helps you to think quicker and gets you in the flow of the game. Once that’s done,the five-on-five game will come.”

Recognising his role in India as an ambassador for the NBA,Grant states that he wants to get the youth more involved in the game. Forming a metaphor to explain the purpose of the 3×3 format,he states,“three-by-three is just the seed in the game. It has already been planted here and the kids are doing very well. Hopefully,we can water that seed with our experience and help it grow into the five-on-five. That format is real basketball.”

Curated For You

Dhurandhar Box Office Collection Day 20 Update: Ranveer Singh film earns Rs 960 cr worldwide, sells record 339K tickets

Stranger Things Season 5 Vol 2 Review and Release Live Updates: India release date and time, when and where to watch on OTT

Before 2025 yes was the 2010 no: Supreme Court had rejected 100-metre definition of Aravallis