PARIS — The Jimmermania revival tour is off to a bumpy start.
Jimmer Fredette tallied just four points on just 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 Stojacic’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.
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.