2024 Olympics: Jimmer Fredette and Co. go down to World No. 1 Serbia

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PARIS — The Jimmermania revival tour is off to a bumpy start.

Jimmer Fredette tallied just four points on five shots as Serbia overwhelmed the U.S. 22-14 on Tuesday night in the opening game of men’s 3×3 group play at the Paris Olympics.

The U.S. trailed 13-11 with 4:30 remaining in the game when Canyon Barry was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul for delivering an inadvertent elbow to the head of his Serbian defender. That sparked a Serbian surge that drained the drama from the game even before Strahinja Stojačić’s game-clinching shot from behind the arc.

Fredette dazzled the crowd with a step-back 3-pointer and several no-look assists early in the game, but he struggled to even get off a shot attempt as Serbia was pulling away.

“That’s a really good team, obviously, we know that,” Fredette said. “They’re the best team in the world right now.”

The matchup between Serbia and the U.S. pitted two men’s 3×3 gold-medal contenders against one-another in an early litmus test for both. Serbia and the U.S. are the top two teams in the world men’s 3×3 rankings. Serbia came from behind late to topple the U.S. 21-19 in the 2023 World Cup final.

Fredette rose to fame playing college ball at BYU, where he averaged 28.9 points a game his senior season. He was drafted 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2011. He played parts of six seasons in the NBA, then overseas for four more years before turning his focus to 3×3 basketball in 2022.