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3x3 GAME RULES

Source: USA Basketball

Court and Ball

  • The game of 3×3 is played on a half court with one basket.

  • The 3×3 court in official competitions is 49′ wide x 36′ deep* (15 meters x 11 meters) with regular basketball court markings, including a 19-foot (5.8 meters) free throw line, a 22-foot (6.75 meters) 2-point line, and a “no-charge semi-circle” area underneath the one basket.

  • The official Wilson FIBA 3x3 ball will be used in all official FIBA 3x3 competitions.

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      *Note: Half of a traditional basketball court may be used.

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Teams

Each team shall consist of 4 players (3 players on the court and 1 substitute).


Game Officials

The game shall consist of 1 or 2 referees and time/score keepers.

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Beginning of the Game

  • Both teams shall warm-up simultaneously prior to the game.

  • A coin flip shall determine which team gets the first possession.

  • The team that wins the coin flip can either choose to benefit from the ball possession at the beginning of the game or at the beginning of a potential overtime.

  • The game must start with three players on the court.

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Scoring

  • Every successful shot inside the arc shall be awarded 1 point.

  • Every successful shot behind the arc shall be awarded 2 points.

  • Every successful free throw shall be awarded 1 point.


Playing Time/Winner of a Game

  • The regular playing time shall be as follows: one period of 10 minutes playing time. The clock shall be stopped during dead ball situations and free throws. The clock shall be restarted after the exchange of the ball is completed (as soon as it is in the offensive team’s hands).

  • The first team to score 21 points or more wins the game. (This rule applies to regular playing time only, not in a potential overtime).

  • If the score is tied at the end of regulation, overtime will be played. The first team to score 2 points in overtime wins the game. There shall be a break of 1 minute before the overtime begins.

  • A team shall lose the game by forfeit if at the scheduled starting time the team is not present on the playing court with 3 players ready to play. In case of a forfeit, the game score is marked with W-0 (“W” standing for win). 

  • A team shall lose by default if it leaves the court before the end of the game or all of the team's players are injured and/or disqualified. In case of a default situation, the winning team can choose to keep its score or have the game forfeited, while in either case, the defaulting team’s score is set to 0.

  • A team losing by default or a forfeit will be disqualified from the competition.


Fouls/Free Throws

  • A team is in a penalty situation after it has committed 6 fouls. After a team has reached 9 team fouls, any subsequent foul will be considered technical. For the avoidance of doubt, players are not excluded based on the number of personal fouls subject to art. 15.

  • Fouls during the act of shooting inside the arc shall be awarded 1 free throw, whilst fouls during the act of shooting behind the arc shall be awarded 2 free throws.

  • Fouls during the act of shooting followed by a successful field goal shall be awarded 1 additional free throw.

  • Team fouls 7, 8 and 9 shall always be awarded with 2 free throws. The 10th and any subsequent team foul as well as technical and unsportsmanlike fouls will be always awarded with 2 free throws and ball possession. This clause is applied also to fouls during the act of shooting.

  • Possession is kept after the last free throw derived from an unsportsmanlike or technical foul and the game shall continue with an exchange of the ball behind the arc at the top of the court.


How the Ball is Played
Following each successful field goal or last free throw:

 

  • A player from a non-scoring team will resume the game by dribbling or passing the ball from inside the court, directly underneath the basket (not from behind the end line).

  • The defensive team is not allowed to play for the ball in the “no-charge semi-circle area” underneath the basket.

  • Following each unsuccessful field goal or last free throwIf the offensive team rebounds the ball, it may continue to attempt to score without clearing the ball beyond the arc.

  • If the defensive team rebounds or steals the ball, it must clear the ball beyond the arc (by passing or dribbling).

  • Possession of the ball following any dead ball situation shall start with an exchange of the ball (between the defensive and the offensive player) behind the arc at the top of the court.

  • A player is considered to be “behind the arc” when neither of his feet are inside nor stepping on the arc.

  • In the event of a "jump ball" situation, the defensive team shall be awarded the ball.


Stalling

Stalling or failing to play actively (i.e. not attempting to score) shall be a violation. A team must attempt a shot within 12 seconds. The clock shall start as soon as the ball is in the offensive player's hands (following the exchange with the defensive player or after a successful field goal underneath the basket).

Substitutions
Substitutions can be done by any team when the ball becomes dead, prior to the check-ball. The substitute can enter the game after his teammate steps off the court and establishes a physical contact with him. Substitutions can only take place behind the end line opposite the basket and substitutions require no action from the referees or table officials.

Timeouts
One 30-second time-out is granted to each team. A player can call the time-out in a dead ball situation.

Protest Procedure
In case a team believes its interests have been adversely affected by a decision of an official or by any event that took place during a game, it must proceed in the following manner:

 

  1. A player of that team shall sign the score sheet immediately at the end of the game and before the referee signs it.

  2. Within 30 minutes, the team should present a written explanation of the case, as well as a security deposit of 200 USD to the Sports Director. If the protest is accepted, then the security deposit is refunded.​

  3. Video materials may be used only to decide if a last shot for a field goal at the end of the game was released during playing time and/or whether that shot for a field goal counts for 1 or 2 points.


Team Standings
Both in pools and in overall competition standings, the following classification rules apply. If teams are tied after the first step, refer to the next one – and so on.

 

  1. Most wins (or win ratio in case of unequal number of games in inter-pool comparison);

  2. Head-to-head confrontation (only taking win/loss into account and applies within a pool only);

  3. Most points scored in average (without considering winning scores of forfeits). If teams are still tied after those three steps, the one(s) with the highest seeding win(s) the tie-breaker.


Seeding Rules
Teams are seeded in correlation to the team ranking points (sum of the team’s 3 best players ranking points, prior to the competition). In case of a same team ranking points, seeding will be determined randomly prior to the competition start.

Disqualification
A player committing two unsportsmanlike fouls will be disqualified from the game by the referees and from the event by the organizer. Independent thereof, the organizer will disqualify the player(s) concerned from the event for acts of violence, verbal or physical aggression, tortuous interference in game results, a violation of FIBA’s Anti-Doping rules (Book 4 of the FIBA Internal Regulations) or any other breach of the FIBA Code of Ethics (Book 1, Chapter II of the FIBA Internal Regulations). The organizer may also disqualify the entire team from the event depending on the other team members’ contribution (also through non-action) to the aforementioned behavior. FIBA’s right to impose disciplinary sanctions under the regulatory framework of the event, the Terms and Conditions of play.fiba3x3.com and the FIBA Internal Regulations remains unaffected by any disqualification under this Article 15.

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Rodney Pryor • Chompin' Chihuahuas

Dominique "Disco Domo" Jones • New Yorkies

Langston Morris-Walker • Leapin' Labradors

Damon Huffman • All America

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