Amazing facts to get hyped over FIBA 3x3 World Tour Jeddah Final 2023

JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - The biggest and best FIBA 3x3 World Tour season will conclude with the showpiece event of 2023 - the Jeddah Final on December 8-9. 

Here are reasons why you should be hyped for the event showcasing the best teams and players on the planet. 

It's the culmination of the biggest World Tour season ever

The season started at the Utsunomiya Opener way back in April. Since then, there have been 16 more stops in the biggest World Tour season ever. 

The World Tour journeyed all over the globe, stopping in fan favorite places and also new ones along the way. There were 76 teams who shed blood, sweat and tears but only 14 teams have made it through to the Jeddah Final. 

The World Tour Final is better than ever and has a twist

For the first time, 14 teams will journey to the World Tour Final. The top 11 teams on the standings qualified directly to the main draw, but to add spice a play-in has been implemented. 

The play-in features the 12th team on the standings (San Juan), the team with the most wins in Challengers/Masters (Paris) and the hosts (Jeddah).

With the depth loaded like never before, there were a stack of teams unlucky to miss out, including legendary Riga, Constanta Masters champs Hangzhou, famous American team Princeton and loaded Futian. 

That just speaks to the increased level of talent in 3x3 with the best of the best to show off their talents in Jeddah. 

There are 10 champions in the draw

It's a crazy stat - 10 of the 14 teams in the World Tour Final are champs this season! The first part of the season was owned by top-ranked Ub Huishan NE, who won the first six Masters of 2023 to rewrite the record books. 

But the field has caught up as Ub have been shut out ever since with the titles shared around.

Miami are the only other multiple winners having won in Cebu and Abu Dhabi, while Antwerp TOPdesk, Amsterdam HiPRO, Vienna, Liman Huishan NE and Raudondvaris Hoptrans added to the titles they won in previous seasons. 

Partizan won a Masters for the first time, while Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy and Paris became the first winners from powerhouse 3x3 nations Mongolia and France respectively.

A large chunk of the globe is represented

We have teams from all over the map to showcase the growing footprint of 3x3. There are nine teams from powerhouse 3x3 continent Europe, including three from heavyweight Serbia. 

North America is represented by Miami and San Juan from Puerto Rico, while Beijing and Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy will showcase the best from Asia. And host Jeddah will be flying the flag for Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. 

Thirteen MVPs could fight for the crown

There might be 13 Masters MVPs from this season fighting for the crown in Jeddah. As you would expect, they are the cream of the crop and provide a snapshot of who dominated the half-court in 2023. 

Top-ranked Strahinja Stojacic was the standout early in the season with a trio of MVPs, but it was a shared effort from Ub with Marko Brankovic, Dejan Majstorovic and Nemanja Barac also taking out top honors. 

The only other multiple winner was former NBA player Jimmer Fredette, who more than lived up to the hype after leading Miami to their first-ever triumphs.

Worthy de Jong, Jonas Foerts, Quincy Diggs, Ning Zhang, Steve Sir, Stefan Milivojevic, Franck Seguela and Aurelijus Pukelis also collected MVPs to complete a star-studded group of players who have sat on the throne. 

FIBA