‘Jimmer Mania’ returns to Sacramento as Fredette wins 3x3 International Cup MVP award

Kyle Montgomery, the in-game announcer and emcee for the 3x3 International Cup, offered a simple explanation for what was happening Sunday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

“Jimmer Mania is taking over 3-on-3 basketball,” he said.

Former Sacramento Kings guard Jimmer Fredette was named tournament MVP after leading Team Miami to the championship, helping his squad advance to the FIBA 3x3 Masters tournament Oct. 22-23 in Chengdu, China.

The championship round featured two of the best 3-on-3 basketball teams in the country with top-ranked Team Miami defeating fourth-ranked Team Omaha 21-19. Each game begins with 10 minutes on the clock. The first team to 21 wins.

Team Miami fell behind early and trailed by as many as four points. Team Omaha had plenty of opportunities to seal the deal, but Miami wouldn’t go away. Fredette scored Miami’s final four points, including a game-winning free throw.

“It was a lot of fun,” Fredette said. “It was exciting, but you could feel the energy in the crowd, you know, towards the end, and it was back and forth, back and forth. We started off down and had to claw our way back, and that’s not easy to do in 3x3. It was super fun.”

Team Miami was awarded the cash prize of $3,000.

The tournament win for Fredette adds to his growing 3x3 resume, which includes a FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup gold medal in 2022 and a FIBA 3x3 World Cup silver medal in 2023. He currently leads the FIBA 3x3 World Tour in player value per game (8.7), 2-point shooting (44%) and scoring efficiency (0.82). He’s the fourth-leading scorer on the tour, accounting for 7.6 points per game.

Fredette is currently a top prospect for the USA Men’s 3x3 National Team for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

Fredette, who came out of BYU as the No. 10 pick in the 2011 NBA draft, began his career in Sacramento after the Kings acquired his draft rights in a three-team trade involving the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Bobcats. He would go on to play for the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns during his six-year NBA career.

Fredette later played in China, suiting up for the Shanghai Sharks, where he continued to demonstrate his high-volume scoring ability. He scored 73 points in a February 2017 game and a career-high 75 points in November 2017.

Fredette, 34, said he is focused on growing the 3-on-3 game in the United States and getting to the Olympics. Although his focus has shifted to developing USA Men’s 3x3 basketball, Fredette enjoyed the love and appreciation he received from Sacramento fans who remember seeing him drain 3-pointers for the Kings from 2011-14.

He said it was great to reminisce about his old stomping grounds. Fredette said it was “special” to play at Golden 1 Center in front of fans who still adore him.

“Just the city itself, coming into the airport and, you know, making the drive downtown,” Fredette said. “Just being able to drive down and see all the restaurants and all the places that I love to go eat like Mikuni or Paesano’s.”

When asked about a potential NBA comeback, Fredette said: “That’s not my aspiration or anything at this point right now. It’s literally just about trying to make the Olympics. That’s my goal.”

Fredette said it would be “great” if an NBA team offered him another opportunity, but that phase of his career is “way back in the past.”

“I’m always prepared. I’m always ready,” Fredette said. “But, you know, it’s more of the fact that I’m really enjoying this. I’m having fun. ... I love playing basketball and doing it in a different setting. It’s a new challenge.”