"Why do I have to be baby": Paris-bound Hailey Van Lith calls for a new nickname by her Team USA teammates

Hailey Van Lith is preparing for her Olympic debut in the upcoming week at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. She will participate in the 3X3 basketball games for Team USA along with Dearica Hamby of the Los Angeles Sparks, Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream and former WNBA player Cierra Burdick.

Since Van Lith is the youngest and only college player in the team, the players have been calling her a baby, which she seemingly does not like. In the video posted to the Team USA TikTok, Burdick addressed the former LSU guard as Baby Van Lith, to which she replied:

"Why do I have to be a baby? Can I just be little bruv?"

After a bit of discussion, the players finalized on "Baby bruv".

Here is the video of the exchange:

View on TikTok

Los Angeles Sparks' Cameron Brink was initially selected to the 3X3 Team USA. However, she had to step down after an ACL injury.

Hailey Van Lith has been representing the USA in the 3X3 games since 2018. She first participated in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games 3x3 competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she earned a gold medal. From then on, she went on to win gold in U18, U19 and at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup.

When she was trying out for the Olympics team in 2018, she said:

“I can’t believe I’m saying the word ‘Olympic. I am so lucky they wanted me on the team. It’s crazy with the amount of girls in the pool."

Now, Hailey Van Lith is just a few days away from making her Olympics debut. After the opening ceremony on Friday, Team USA will play their first game against Germany on July 30.

Hailey Van Lith explains why she likes 3x3 games the most

A 3x3 game is very different from 5x5 and it is much quicker with the players requiring to be versatile. And this is the reason why Jailey Van Lith likes it so much. In an interview from 2018, she said:

“I just like how fast-paced (3x3) is. And chaotic at times. Things are always happening, and it’s action-packed. The rules are a lot different, totally different than five-on-five, and the ball is a different size, the 3-point line is farther, it’s continuous play. It’s fast and intense, and you have to be in great shape, but I love to play that way.”

“What I remember most is that every game is so unique. The strategy from game to game is so different. You can't specialize in one thing and make it as a player in 3 on 3. You have to be able to guard every position for at least a couple of seconds,” she added (via US news)

2020 Tokyo Olympics marked the first appearance of 3x3 basketball as part of the Olympic programme.. Team USA with Jackie Young, Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray and Kelsey Plum won the gold. The current team will be hoping to replicate the same results.