It only takes a look at the playing area to realise this is basketball, but not as we know it.

With only half a court and just one hoop for both teams to attack, gaining possession and using it well is the key to the game.

The court isn’t the only thing that’s been cut in half. With just 12 seconds on the shot clock instead of the 24 permitted in full court basketball, 3×3 offers high octane action at every turn.

Each team is made up of three players, plus one substitute. Shots scored from inside the arc-shaped scoring zone are worth one point each, while shots taken from behind the arc area put two on the board.

The first team to 21 points wins – if no team has reached that milestone after ten minutes, the team in the lead claims the win.

Previous Commonwealth Games Appearances

This is Basketball 3×3’s first ever appearance at the Commonwealth Games. The more familiar 5×5 version of the game has been contested twice at the Games, first in Melbourne in 2006, and on the Gold Coast in 2018.

Basketball 3×3 will be played in the heart of Birmingham City Centre at the Smithfield site, which will be transformed in readiness for Birmingham 2022.