Jamell Anderson on basketball's public funding windfall and how 3x3 is a positive, not a rival to traditional game

This week, basketball received its largest public funding injection since the lead-up to the London 2012 Olympics when it was announced that the British Basketball Federation (BBF) has been allocated £2.925m by UK Sport for the period leading to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

That award is augmented by Sport England’s announcement of an additional £1.55m, channelled through Basketball England, which takes the overall investment to nearly £4.5m.

For a sport that has long trumpeted its status as the second-most played team sport among young people in this country, it is welcome and long-overdue investment.

Given there was very little legacy outside of participation from the money invested last time and off their appearance in the London Olympics, the announcement has been greeted with understandable caution among the basketball community.

Moreover, the fact that investing in 3x3 basketball, particularly from an England Basketball standpoint, was placed so highly as a priority has raised some concern among traditionalists who would rather see the money spent on the 5v5 game.

But Anderson, who plays the traditional form for Sheffield Sharks and still represents Great Britain at that level, believes basketball should embrace 3x3 as a vehicle to grow the whole sport.

And he should know. He played on the first England team to compete in a 3x3 tournament back in 2012 and won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham a decade later.

“It’s not a rival to traditional basketball, in my opinion it’s a different game,” said Nottingham-born Anderson of a version of basketball that is played on a half-court and only lasts 10 to 12 minutes.

“If you’ve played it at the highest level you understand it’s a different game. So it’s not a rival, but they can definitely help each other.

“Like with Twenty20 cricket, the audience is still mainly cricket fans, but like Twenty20 it’s the shorter, more explosive form of the game, and it’s very convenient. The game lasts 10/12 minutes and that’s perfect for the new generation of people and how they watch their sport.

“It’s a good vehicle for the sport of basketball to grow. We’re still pushing basketball from a marketing standpoint to people in the UK, so giving them different options will be important to that.

“It’s a game that teaches you a lot. The 3x3 game can be used to teach the younger generation parts of the game that they might not understand, like in football where they play futsal. In Brazil they use futsal to teach 11-a-side players the skills, and 3x3 can be used the same way in basketball.

“It’s more of a mental difference than a physical one between the traditional game and 3x3.”

With participation figures already strong, the money will be used at the elite end to strengthen Great Britain’s men’s and women’s teams’ chances of competing for medals on the international stage, like qualifying for next summer’s EuroBasket, as well as building a “world class 3x3 programme”.

British Basketball Federation chair Chris Grant said: “The key to success is the development of a coherent player pathway that has clear performance standards and works towards a common goal. High quality development for coaches and professional staff sits alongside performance and player welfare as key themes in the strategic future of British basketball.”

For Anderson, who has been in the British basketball system for more than two decades and is a shining example of what a player can achieve in the sport, this financial award represents a chance the sport cannot afford to spurn.

“I think this money would be best spent by allowing opportunity,” he told The Yorkshire Post.

“If that means creating more 3x3 opportunities, if that means giving the age groups more opportunities, but also the men’s and women’s teams, if there’s finance that will help our international teams have more camps together, then that money will be being spent well.

“It means there’s going to be more kids like myself who will get that opportunity to play at a high level and I hope that funding really spreads out among the GB age groups.

“And at the elite level, that finance is going to provide the opportunity to go to EuroBasket, for our international squads to have more camps and to prepare for these events better.”