Three-on-three basketball player Kareem Maddox had been lying to himself.
Ever since 2017, when 3×3 basketball was announced that it would be an Olympic sport, the 34-year-old has told himself he’s an Olympian.
Playing in the Olympics was a goal for so long that Maddox said, “at some level, I had to believe it, even if it wasn’t true.”
Now having qualified for the Olympics Paris 2024, the pro baller is excited to make his dream a reality this summer.
This will be the first time Team USA’s 3×3 men’s national team — consisting of former NBA player Jimmer Fredette, Dylan Travis and Canyon Barry — will compete in a Games since the sport debuted at the Olympics Tokyo 2020.
Maddox was a part of the U.S. men’s team that failed to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Despite that heartbreak, he knew his goal was in the cards. “That’s easy to say now,” he laughed. “But there were moments where I was like, this is hard.”
His career trajectory hasn’t always followed a straight path, sometimes even diverging from the realm of sports. At times he would question if he was meant to follow in the footsteps of his namesake, Los Angeles Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
After attending Princeton University — where he played basketball for four years — Maddox spent two seasons playing in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. He made his way back to the States where he landed a job as a host and producer for NPR (National Public Radio). But after three years, he opted to quit to train for Tokyo in pursuit of his Olympic dream.
Looking back, he wishes his younger self knew it would all be worth it one day. But not for the reasons he thought it would.
“Everything I’ve had to do daily to make this happen is the real reward,” he shared. “The lifestyle changes that will last longer than August, the value of training and being intentional with how you train, goal setting, things like that. The Olympics are going to be great. I’m excited for it. But that’s only a small part of the rewarding thing about playing this sport.”
Since its inclusion as an Olympic sport, 3×3 basketball has experienced a surge in popularity.
“Seeing the growth of the sport has been awesome. You see it professionalizing a little bit more every year,” Maddox said. Gone are the days of playing at local parks just to get in a few shots before a tournament. Now, he said “there is an officiality to it. It’s raised the level, which is great.”