Last weekend found Olympic bronze medalist Cierra Burdick part of the fierce action in 3XBA at Hoopfest. 3XBA is a professional women’s league that plays Olympic and FIBA style 3X3. Games are played on a half court, last 10 minutes and use a 12-second shot clock. Hoopfest is a two-day tournament held on the streets of Spokane, Washington, and streamed live on the All Women’s Sport Network (AWSN).
Since graduating from the University of Tennessee in 2015, Burdick has had a vibrant professional career that includes six seasons in the WNBA, including a stint with the New York Liberty. She started playing with USA Basketball in high school, segueing into 3X3 with great success, including World Cup titles in 2014 and 2023 and the 2024 Olympic bronze medal.
“I love the versatility of 3X3; you’ve got to be able to guard multiple positions and offensively to play multiple positions,” said Burdick. “In 5-on-5, I was always considered a tweener (Burdick is 6-foot-2): maybe not quick enough or shooting the 3-point shot well enough to be a guard but not big enough to be a post. For 3X3, being a tweener is one of my strengths.”
Playing 3X3 has sharpened her game, including leadership, communication, ability to adjust and stamina. She values the IQ aspect of 3X3 since coaches are not allowed on the court during games.
“There are a lot of nuances — being able to think the game and kind of coach yourself out there, since we don’t have a coach during the game. That’s probably one of my greatest strengths. … It’s really a chess match out there,” said Burdick, who also plays 5X5 internationally (having recently played in France) and hopes to coach after retiring.
3XBA is only a part of Spokane Hoopfest, which is the world’s largest 3-on-3 outdoor basketball tournament that draws thousands of teams annually. Teammates are assigned for the eight 3XBA teams, and they practiced for a couple of days before the games began.
“Last year, I remember waking up the first day of Hoopfest and I opened up my hotel curtains and there were people everywhere, basketball everywhere and courts everywhere,” Burdick said. “The energy was electric. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year. … We know we have to get more eyes on the sport. For us to have live broadcasts with AWSN, that’s huge for us.”
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