Jimmer Fredette Reacts USA's 3x3 Olympic Loss to Serbia After Scoring 4 Points

Jimmer Fredette struggled in his first appearance for the United States' 3x3 basketball team at the 2024 Olympics.

The former BYU star scored four points for Team USA in a 22-14 loss to Serbia in the opening game of the tournament for both countries.

Speaking to reporters after the loss, Fredette highlighted Serbia's size advantage as a key difference in the game:

"They shot the ball great tonight. Obviously, they're big. A lot of times when teams are shooting ones (inside the arc), that's what kind of what we want. But, they got a lot of easy ones tonight and were making all of them, and we didn't hit our two-ball (beyond the arc) super well.

"That's a really good team, obviously. We know that they're the best team in the world right now. We've had some battles against them in the past and they came out to play. But, it's a long tournament for us, so we're excited to get back on it tomorrow."

Fredette shot 3-of-5 from the field in the game, but his two misses were on one-point attempts. Kareem Maddox led the United States with six points. He was 4-of-5 on one-point field goals.

The Serbians made all 12 of their one-point attempts. Marko Brankovic finished with a game-high eight points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field.

Strahinja Stojacic, who scored seven points, had the game-winning two-point shot with 2:34 left to play.

The eight-point loss by the U.S. was the largest margin of defeat for any 3x3 team on Tuesday.

Serbia's 3x3 men's team is a juggernaut. The country took home the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games before winning the FIBA World Cup in 2022 and 2023.

Team USA failed to medal in Tokyo three years ago. Maddox is the only holdover from that roster. Fredette, Canyon Berry and Dylan Travis have been playing with Maddox since the 2022 AmeriCup. That quartet won silver at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, losing to Serbia in the final.

Fredette was a superstar in college during his four years at BYU. He was named National Player of the Year as a senior in 2010-11 after averaging 28.9 points per game on 39.6 percent three-point shooting.

A first-round pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2011, Fredette struggled adapting to the NBA. He appeared in 241 games over six seasons with five different teams, but his best success as a professional came overseas.

Fredette won a Greek League title with Panathinaikos during the 2019-20 season. The 35-year-old has been playing 3x3 basketball since 2022.

The United States will look to rebound against Poland on Wednesday at 4:35 p.m. ET.