How to qualify in Basketball
How 3x3 basketball teams qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
3x3 basketball at Los Angeles 2028 has a men's and a women's tournament of 12 teams each, four players per team.
Unlike 5-a-side, 3x3 ranks countries by their players: a country's ranking is built from the points of its top 20 players on the FIBA 3x3 individual ranking. On 1 December 2027 that country ranking decides five places per gender. Africa, Europe and the Americas get one each (their best country). Asia and Oceania together get two, at least one of them from Asia.
The other places come from tournaments in 2028:
- Two from a qualifying tournament for countries that have not played 5-a-side basketball at the last two Olympics.
- Two from a second qualifying tournament, open to the best-ranked countries.
- Two from the Olympic Q-Series in Tokyo and Shanghai in May 2028, one each.
- One for the United States as host.
So for an Indian team, the race is about Indian players earning 3x3 ranking points in official events, with Asia's places on the country ranking as the most direct route.
The places
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams through qualification | 11 | 11 | 22 |
| Host country | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Teams | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| Players (4 per team) | 48 | 48 | 96 |
Places go to the country.
Who can play
- Born before 1 January 2010.
- A confirmed account on play.fiba3x3.com with verified eligibility, and at least two events between 1 January 2026 and 12 June 2028 in FIBA 3x3 official competitions, recognised national team competitions or recognised qualifiers.
- At least two of the four must be among their country's top-ranked players on the FIBA 3x3 individual ranking of 12 June 2028 (the list must reach at least the top 10 who did not play in the previous year's Youth Nations League).
- Nationality: hold the country's nationality and a passport issued before 1 January 2026, and never have played for another country in FIBA competitions (unless FIBA allows it).
- The national federation must have a staff member with FIBA 3x3 e-learning certification by 1 December 2027 and must not be under a FIBA sanction.
Route 1: the country ranking of 1 December 2027 (5 per gender)
| Zone | Places |
|---|---|
| Africa | 1 |
| Europe | 1 |
| Americas | 1 |
| Asia and Oceania together (at least one from Asia) | 2 |
The country ranking adds the 3x3 individual ranking points of a country's top 20 players, from their nine best results in each of two years: the 12 months before 1 December 2026 and before 1 December 2027. It updates daily. Ties go to the country with the highest-ranked player.
Route 2: Universality-driven qualifying tournament (2 per gender)
2028, place and date to be confirmed. Twelve teams per gender: the host of the tournament, then the best-ranked countries not yet qualified, but only countries that have not played 5-a-side basketball (men or women) at the last two Olympics. At least one and at most six teams per zone. The top two qualify.
Route 3: Ranking qualifying tournament (2 per gender)
2028, place and date to be confirmed. Twelve teams per gender: the host, then the best-ranked countries not yet qualified; at least one and at most six per zone. The top two qualify.
Route 4: Olympic Q-Series (2 per gender)
Tokyo (4 to 7 May 2028) and Shanghai (11 to 14 May 2028). The best country at each qualifies.
Where the document disagrees with itself. Section D.4 and D.5 describe the Q-Series entry twice, differently. One version fills the eight places from the host, the 2026 and 2027 Champions Cups, the 2027 continental cups and the 2027 3x3 World Cup. The other fills them from the host and the combined country ranking (the geometric average of the men's and women's country rankings), with one to four teams per zone.
The host country
The United States may qualify one team per gender, on conditions set by the FIBA Central Board. It had to confirm by 1 September 2026. An unused host place goes to the next country on the country ranking.
Places turned down
The next eligible country, from the same event or by the same method.
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 September 2026 | The United States confirms its interest in host places |
| 1 December 2027 | Country ranking cut-off (5 places per gender) |
| By 6 December 2027 | FIBA confirms the ranking places; countries have 10 days to accept |
| 2028 (to be confirmed) | The two qualifying tournaments |
| 4 to 7 May 2028 | Q-Series, Tokyo |
| 11 to 14 May 2028 | Q-Series, Shanghai |
| 12 June 2028 | Eligibility cut-off |
| 26 June 2028 | Entries deadline for the Games |
| 16 to 22 July 2028 | Olympic 3x3 events |
Where to follow it
fiba3x3.com/en/olympics shows the country ranking, updated daily.
How basketball teams qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Basketball at Los Angeles 2028 has a men's and a women's tournament of 12 teams each.
Men: the 2027 World Cup in Qatar (27 August to 12 September 2027) decides seven places: the best two teams from Europe and from the Americas, and the best one from Africa, from Asia and from Oceania. Four more come from four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in late June 2028. The United States as host takes the last place.
Women: the 2026 World Cup winner was meant to qualify directly. But the United States won it, in Berlin on 13 September 2026, and is also the host. So only one team qualifies directly, and the other 11 come from four qualifying tournaments in February 2028, where 16 teams play for them.
For India's women, the route runs through the 2027 Asia Cup: the top four from Asia and Oceania go to the qualifying tournaments. For India's men, places at the pre-qualifying tournaments come from the World Cup qualifiers and the FIBA ranking.
The places
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams through qualification | 11 | 11 | 22 |
| Host country | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Teams | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| Players (12 per team) | 144 | 144 | 288 |
Places go to the country. Players must be eligible for FIBA's main official competitions under its internal regulations. The FIBA Central Board decides in 2027 whether to grant the host places.
Men
1. The 2027 World Cup (7 teams): the best-placed teams from each continent.
| Continent | Teams |
|---|---|
| Africa | 1 |
| Americas | 2 |
| Asia | 1 |
| Europe | 2 |
| Oceania | 1 |
2. Pre-qualifying tournaments, 2027 (34 teams for 5 places): the 27 teams that reached the second round of the World Cup qualifiers but missed the World Cup, plus the seven best-ranked teams (FIBA ranking, March 2027) that did not reach that second round. By region: Africa 6, Americas 6, Asia with Oceania 6, Europe 16. Five go through: two from Europe and one each from Africa, the Americas and Asia-Oceania.
3. Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, 2028 (24 teams for 4 places):
| Teams | From |
|---|---|
| 3 | The best World Cup team not yet qualified from Africa, the Americas and Asia-Oceania |
| 16 | The next best World Cup teams, any continent |
| 5 | The pre-qualifying winners |
Four tournaments of six teams, drawn, each hosted by one of its teams. The four winners qualify.
Women
1. The 2026 World Cup winner: qualifies directly. Because the winner (the United States) is also the host, only one team qualifies directly and 11 come through the qualifying tournaments.
2. Pre-qualifying tournament (17 to 23 August 2026, Guadalajara): the eight teams that missed the 2026 World Cup through its qualifying tournaments. The winner goes to the qualifying tournaments. The result has not been checked for this page.
3. Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (10 to 13 February 2028, 16 teams):
| Region | Teams | From |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 2 | 2027 AfroBasket |
| Americas | 4 | 2027 AmeriCup |
| Asia with Oceania | 4 | 2027 Asia Cup |
| Europe | 6 | 2027 EuroBasket |
The pre-qualifying winner takes one of its region's places. The 16 include the host and the World Cup winner. Four tournaments of four teams: the top three in each qualify. The United States, in its group, qualifies regardless, with two others from that group. At least one group has two teams from the same region.
If a team pulls out
The place goes to the best-ranked team on the FIBA World Ranking of March 2028: from the same zone if the team that pulled out was its zone's only one; otherwise from anywhere. If the host's place is not used, it goes to the next World Cup team (men) or the next team at the qualifying tournaments (women).
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 17 to 23 August 2026 | Women's pre-qualifying tournament (done) |
| 4 to 13 September 2026 | Women's World Cup, Germany (done; won by the United States) |
| 16 June to 22 August 2027 | Women's continental cups (EuroBasket, AmeriCup, Asia Cup 11 to 18 July, AfroBasket) |
| 14 to 22 August 2027 | Men's pre-qualifying tournaments |
| 27 August to 12 September 2027 | Men's World Cup, Qatar |
| 30 November 2027 | Countries confirm use of places |
| 10 to 13 February 2028 | Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments |
| 28 February 2028 | Countries confirm after the women's qualifiers |
| 26 June to 2 July 2028 | Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments |
| 2 July 2028 | Entries deadline for the four men's qualifier winners |
| 12 to 30 July 2028 | Olympic basketball tournament |
Dates that do not fit. Section E says countries in the qualifying tournaments must confirm by 30 September 2027; section D (men) and the timeline say 30 November 2027. The basketball tournament starts on 12 July 2028, two days before the Games' official dates (14 to 30 July).