NBA insider accuses FIBA for undermining Team USA's triumph in 3x3 basketball at Olympics

Compared to the Men's National 5 vs. 5 Basketball squad still running for gold, Team USA's 3x3 team's run at the Paris Olympics has ended in disappointment. The men's squad failed to secure a medal after finishing with an abysmal 2-5 record.

Team USA's 3x3 rosters have noticeably less star power than their 5 vs. 5 counterparts and ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst shared on the 'Pat McAfee Show' that FIBA is partly to blame for this.

Windhorst said this about it while speaking on Pat McAfee's eponymous show.

"FIBA doesn't really want the US to do good at 3-on-3," said Windhorst. "They really want that to be for countries that can't field 5-on-5 teams and so they do all these things, they have all these different layers and layers and layers of things you have to do to qualify. I don't just mean the team, Kyrie [Irving] can't just show up and play. The only way you can play is if you like play in 15 different qualifying events."

There aren't any rules stopping top NBA talents from competing in 3x3 basketball. However, the rules dictate that a 3x3 roster needs to have the top ten players and two players in the top 50 if that country's rankings are in 3x3.

In order to accrue the points needed to be ranked within the top ten or the top 50, a hooper needs to play in a FIBA-sanctioned 3x3 event. Some of these events take place while the NBA season is ongoing while others occur in the offseason.

Even though some FIBA 3x3 games take place while the NBA is on break, players usually use that time to recuperate or to prepare for the following season as opposed to representing Team USA in 3x3 basketball.

As such, they do not accrue enough points, or any points for that matter, to become eligible for a spot at the 3x3 during the Olympics.

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Brian Windhorst references Caitlin Clark while talking about Team USA's 3x3 woes

Team USA's women's 3x3 squad was able to accomplish what their male counterparts could not which was to secure a medal with a third-place finish.

Dearica Hamby stepped in to replace the injured Cameron Brink. Additionally, Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream has been added to the roster. The lineup is rounded out by Hailey Van Lith and Cierra Burdick, both of whom have won multiple gold medals for Team USA in 3x3 basketball competitions.

However, Brian Windhorst thinks this team could have been more powerful if Caitlin Clark had been allowed to join. In the same guest appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Windhorst imagined that adding Caitlin Clark to this year's 3x3 squad would have been a sight to behold.

"That was something Caitlin Clark could have done," Windhorst said via the Pat McAfee show. "Now she may not have wanted to do it, but if Caitlin Clark played can you imagine what that would have been like? But there were like 15 hoops she had to jump through. Because FIBA doesn't care about ratings. They just care about you know like growing the game elsewhere outside the US so that's not their priority."

The WNBA season is much shorter which gives its players time and opportunity to compete in FIBA-sanctioned 3x3 events. This means that Caitlin Clark could have joined.

However, Clark had not participated in any FIBA 3x3 competitions which means she cannot just be included in the roster. Windhorst used Clark's situation as another example, saying that she had to jump through "15 hoops" just to be eligible for 3x3 basketball.