Featured Columnist IVAugust 5, 2024
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Talk about an Olympic moment.
Worthy de Jong didn’t only take home a gold medal for the men’s 3×3 basketball competition at the 2024 Paris Games on Monday, he turned in a clutch performance that will long be remembered.
His Netherlands side took on the host country France in front of a raucous crowd and was trailing by two points with 30 seconds remaining in the gold-medal match. All de Jong did was score two straight baskets to force overtime, one of which came with just a second remaining, and then drill the game-winning two-pointer in overtime.
3×3 Basketball |FIBA3x3 @FIBA3x3
🇳🇱 THE GOLDEN SHOT! 🤩🥇#3x3Basketball #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/GMHw1R8TGM
Overtime in 3×3 is a race to two points, and de Jong unleashed the winning shot from beyond the arc just before the shot-clock buzzer expired for an 18-17 victory.
While de Jong started in traditional 5×5 basketball, he found success in the 3×3 game and is hoping to inspire more in his home country.
“Before 3×3 basketball, we were never in a position to make it to the Olympics or even make it to a world championship,” de Jong said, per Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press. “So to be here and get a gold medal, I hope it shows how beautiful the sport is and inspires a lot of players and kids to go on this journey.”
He also highlighted his own growth in the switch to 3×3.
“I started to feel like that kid that fell in love with basketball all over again,” he said. “So to go from there to this right now, that just shows that if you work hard and if you enjoy what you do, a lot of things are possible.”
While de Jong’s heroics were the story of the tournament, France can at least take solace knowing it won silver. Elsewhere, Lithuania captured the bronze medal with a 21-18 victory over Latvia.
