3XBA offers aspiring pro players a chance to play FIBA-sanctioned 3×3 basketball

The WNBA is one of the most competitive professional sports leagues to compete in due to its maximum roster size of only 12 players per team. The 3×3 Basketball Association (3XBA), which launched in 2024, hopes to change the landscape of what opportunities are available stateside for aspiring pros by providing a chance for them to play 3×3.

The organization’s efforts will take center stage Saturday and Sunday in Spokane, Washington, at Hoopfest, the largest 3-on-3 outdoor basketball event in the world, where 3XBA is hosting a professional women’s FIBA 3×3 tournament. The tournament, which will be played in the official Olympic 3×3 format, serves as a FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series qualifier, with the winning team earning a spot in the series’ stop in Edmonton, Alberta, in August.

“I think it’s huge, you know, because not everybody wants to go overseas, for one, and also, there aren’t a ton of overseas leagues going on right now during the summer,” 3XBA founding athlete Cierra Burdick said. “So this allows [athletes] to stay in shape, to be able to compete, to be able to play, to learn the game, and then help them either prepare to get called up by a WNBA team or help them prepare to go overseas.”

The tournament features 32 basketball players, including 2025 WNBA draft picks Shyanne Sellers, Zaay Green, Madison Scott and Harmoni Turner, as well as 2025 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year Diamond Johnson, competing on eight separate teams.

According to 3XBA, the 32 athletes competing this weekend include more than 20% of the players drafted into the WNBA this year.

“You watch them [in college], and then they win a national championship, and then maybe or may not make a [WNBA] roster,” 3XBA general manager Lakin Roland said. “That’s not because of them as players really, like, the fault is not in their development. It’s just that there’s not enough space for all of them. … We reach out and try and create relationships with these players and give an opportunity to pursue a similar path but a different way.

“That’s the goal – just provide opportunities for women to play the game they love and to be paid.”

Unlike 5-on-5 basketball, 3×3 is a 10-minute game played on a half court with a 12-second shot clock. The first team to score 21 points wins. However, if neither team has scored 21 points by the 10-minute mark, the team with the most points wins. If the score is tied, the first team to score two points in overtime wins.

Roland, a former basketball standout and assistant coach at Dartmouth, has experience playing in the 3×3 format. She noticed the shortage of opportunities for athletes from her personal experience and has committed to expanding the game for the next generation.

Johnson is one of the athletes seeking to benefit from that commitment. The Norfolk State alum signed a training-camp contract with the Minnesota Lynx in April, but the organization waived her in early May.

“After that, I obviously still [wanted] to play basketball – like that wasn’t when I stopped my journey,” Johnson said. “So me and my agent, we got together, we talked about overseas options. … We kind of came to the conclusion that China had the best offer.” 

With Johnson not leaving for the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association until this November, she had the summer free. That’s where 3XBA came into play.

“I’m looking forward to just the opportunity and just meeting new people and creating another opportunity out of, you know, me playing in a 3×3,” Johnson said. 

Johnson remembers playing 3-on-3 pickup casually in the early days of her basketball career; now she gets to put those old skills to the test. She believes her shooting ability and quickness will be her biggest assets as she transitions to the Olympic format. 

While 3-on-3 basketball is not a new concept, it didn’t make its Olympic debut until the 2020 Tokyo Games. As one of 3XBA’s seven founding athletes, Burdick took her 3×3 talent all the way to the 2024 Paris Olympics. She hopes to see other players get similar chances to compete at the highest level.

“[I’m] definitely in that mentor [role]. I mean, I’ve got 11 years, you know, on some of these players that are joining us. A lot of players have not played at all, and I’ve been playing for over a decade now, so I definitely take that role,” Burdick said. “[I] try to help these players learn the game and learn the little nuances that you don’t necessarily know by just watching it.”

From youth initiatives to the pros, the 3XBA vision remains the same: growing the game.

“The main goal is just providing opportunities for women to play, for them to be compensated for their work, their time, their effort, and for them to continue to grow as players,” Burdick said. “To continue to gain viewership, to continue to gain a following, to put more eyes on the Olympic 3×3 … for them to be able to come from the 3XBA program, that’s special. We want to be the No. 1 developmental spot for Olympic 3×3 basketball.”