Jimmer Fredette pens concerning first words on devastating injury & Team USA’s Olympics exit
Jimmer Fredette and the U.S. men's 3x3 squad saw their 2024 Paris Olympic Games campaign come to an abrupt end after they failed to move past pool play. Their cause was not helped with the No. 1 player in the world going down with an adductor injury, tearing two ligaments.
The former BYU standout and 10th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks took to Instagram to provide an update on his injury that limited him to just two games in Paris and shared his thoughts on the team's early exit.
Fredette said that he sustained his Olympic campaign-ending injury early in their 19-17 loss to Poland on July 31, where he registered just three points. That was the last time the crowd saw him in action for the United States, who went 2-7 in the tournament, good for seventh place.
In his IG post, Fredette, who's expected to be out for six months, couldn't hide his disappointment over his injury and not being able to be with his team after they worked so hard in the previous two years to qualify for the Olympics, becoming the No. 1 team in the world this year.
He said it was an honor to play for the U.S. while thanking all supporters who stood by them throughout their journey. Check out his post below:
Apart from Jimmer Fredette, also a part of Team USA were Canyon Barry, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis.
Left slugging it out in the men's semifinals are the Netherlands and Lithuania in one bracket and Latvia and hosts France in the other.
Jimmer Fredette was forward to playing in the Olympics
Jimmer Fredette was looking forward to playing in the Paris Olympics, as it was a realization of a long-sought dream, which for a while he thought would never happen.
The 35-year-old guard out of New York shared in an interview with ABC4 Sports in Utah, touching on what the Olympics meant to him and how it all came about.
"'I love the Olympics. Like, it's one of my favorite things. I watch every event and I have all the way up until now,' said the former BYU star, who played six seasons in the NBA before taking his talent overseas where he made a name for himself, particularly in China.
"I didn't (think I'd play in the Olympics), honestly. It was something that (USA 3x3 head coach) Fran (Franschilla) came up to me and asked me last summer if I'd be interested in it. I had seen it, and I'd heard about it, but I was like, this may be an opportunity to be able to play in the Olympics. I never thought I'd ever have a chance to do that."
Alas, Jimmer Fredette's Olympic campaign lasted only two games after he suffered an adductor injury and saw his team bow out in pool play. He, however, remains hopeful of getting back into the game and make another go at the next Olympics in Los Angeles in four years.