How does 3x3 basketball work and how is it scored?

3x3 basketball is a half-court, three-against-three format governed by FIBA, played on one basket with a fourth player as substitute. It became a full Olympic sport at Tokyo 2020 (contested in 2021) and runs as a fast, continuous game rather than a scaled-down 5-on-5.

Each side fields three players on court plus one substitute, and the action never switches ends — both teams attack and defend the same hoop. This single-basket design is the defining feature that separates 3x3 from the traditional full-court game.

A match is short and decisive: the first team to 21 points wins, or the team leading after 10 minutes of regulation takes it, whichever arrives first. Combined with a 12-second shot clock, the format rewards quick decisions and constant movement.

Scoring uses a compressed value scale — 1 point inside the arc, 2 points beyond it — so a single "two" swings a game far more than a three-pointer does across a 40-minute 5x5 contest. If you want the mechanics of point values in general, our guide to how basketball scoring works breaks them down.

3x3 grew from streetball culture into a codified discipline with its own World Tour, national federations and Olympic medals. FIBA publishes a dedicated Rules of the Game document, distinct from the 5x5 Official Basketball Rules, and it is the authority for everything below.

In 3x3, a basket scored from inside the arc counts 1 point, a basket from beyond the arc counts 2 points, and each successful free throw counts 1 point. The arc — often called the two-point line — sits 6.75 m from the basket, matching the FIBA 5x5 three-point distance.

This one-and-two structure is the biggest scoring difference from 5x5, where the same shots are worth two and three. In 3x3 the label changes but the geometry does not: the line sits at the identical 6.75 m radius used in senior FIBA competition.

Because the target is only 21 points, every made "two" is worth close to 10% of a winning total. Teams that shoot well from distance can erase a deficit in two or three possessions, which is why perimeter shooting and quick "clears" behind the arc dominate 3x3 strategy.

Free throws still count 1 point each, and they arrive both from shooting fouls and from the team-foul penalty situation described below. A shooting foul inside the arc gives one free throw; a foul on a shot from beyond the arc gives two free throws.

Shot location	Points
Inside the arc	1
Beyond the 6.75 m arc	2
Free throw	1

A 3x3 game ends the instant a team reaches 21 points, or when the clock hits 10 minutes of regulation with one team ahead — whichever comes first. There are no quarters; a single running period governs the whole match.

If the scores are level after 10 minutes, the game goes to overtime. Overtime has no fixed length: the first team to score 2 points wins immediately, so a single made "two" from beyond the arc can end it.

The shot clock is 12 seconds — less than half the 24 seconds used in 5x5 — forcing an attack on nearly every possession. Combined with the 21-point ceiling, most games are decided well under the full ten minutes.

There is no opening jump ball. First possession is settled by a coin flip (or the organiser's possession decision), after which play restarts with a "check" at the top of the arc on every dead ball.

Because the game can finish on points rather than time, pace management matters: a team trailing late must both stop the leader and manufacture quick twos. This is why 3x3 feels closer to a shootout than the measured four-quarter rhythm of the full-court game.

After every made basket or free throw, the ball goes to the defending team — you do not keep possession after scoring as you would inbounding in 5x5. The new offence must first "clear" the ball behind the arc, taking both feet and the ball beyond the two-point line, before it can attack.

Every possession begins with a check at the top: the ball is exchanged with a defender to confirm both teams are ready. A steal, a rebound of a miss, or a defensive stop also requires clearing behind the arc before a shot counts.

Fouls are counted per team, not toward individual disqualification. Crucially, no player fouls out on personal fouls — there is no five-foul limit as in FIBA 5x5. A player can commit many fouls and stay on court, though unsportsmanlike and technical fouls carry their own penalties.

Team fouls drive the penalty ladder:

• Team fouls 1–6: normal, no bonus free throws for non-shooting fouls.
• 7th, 8th and 9th team foul: 2 free throws awarded.
• 10th team foul and beyond: 2 free throws plus possession.

Shooting fouls are penalised by location: a foul on a shot inside the arc gives 1 free throw, and a foul on a shot from beyond the arc gives 2 free throws. If the basket is made despite the foul, the point counts and one extra free throw is added.

3x3 is played on a half court measuring 15 m wide by 11 m deep, with a single regulation hoop at 3.05 m and the two-point arc at 6.75 m. Any flat, safe surface can host a game, which is part of why the format spread from urban courts worldwide.

The official ball is unusual: it is size 6 in circumference but carries the weight of a size 7. This "size 6, weight 7" ball gives the smaller sphere a heavier, truer flight, standardising shooting feel across the discipline.

Only four players per team are registered — three on court and one substitute — and substitutions happen on dead balls behind the arc without a referee's whistle. A game can be officiated by one or two referees, fewer than the three-official crew common in high-level 5x5.

3x3 made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, held in 2021, where both a men's and a women's tournament awarded medals. It also runs a year-round FIBA 3x3 World Tour and a World Cup, giving the format a full international calendar distinct from 5x5.

For the wider basketball family and its variants, see our basketball hub.

3x3 differs from 5x5 in almost every structural rule: half court vs full court, one basket vs two, three players vs five, points worth 1 and 2 vs 2 and 3, a 12-second shot clock vs 24, and a 21-point or 10-minute finish vs four 10-minute quarters. The two are separate FIBA disciplines with separate rulebooks.

The most tactical divergence is the scoring scale. In 5x5 a three-pointer adds one point over a two; in 3x3 a "two" is double an inside basket, so distance shooting is proportionally far more valuable toward the 21-point target.

Feature	3x3	5x5
Court	Half, one basket	Full, two baskets
Players on court	3 (+1 sub)	5 (+ up to 7 subs)
Basket values	1 and 2	2 and 3
Free throw	1 point	1 point
Game length	First to 21, or 10 min	4 × 10 min
Shot clock	12 seconds	24 seconds
Foul-out limit	None	5 personal fouls
Overtime	First to 2 points	5-minute periods

Officiating also differs: 3x3 uses one or two referees and no player disqualification on personal fouls, whereas 5x5 caps a player at five personal fouls and typically fields a three-referee crew. Both share the same 6.75 m arc distance, so a shooter's range carries over even though the point value does not.