Paris Olympics: Jimmer Fredette and Co. go down to World No. 1 Serbia

PARIS — The Jimmermania revival tour is off to a bumpy start.

Jimmer Fredette tallied just four points on just five shots as Serbia overwhelmed the U.S. 22-14 on Tuesday night in the opening game of men’s 3x3 group play at the Paris Olympics.

The U.S. trailed 13-11 with 4:30 remaining in the game when Canyon Barry was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul for delivering an inadvertent elbow to the head of his Serbian defender. That sparked a Serbian surge that drained the drama from the game even before Strahinja Stojacic’s game-clinching shot from behind the arc.

Fredette dazzled the crowd with a step-back 3-pointer and several no-look assists early in the game, but he struggled to even get off a shot attempt as Serbia was pulling away.

The matchup between Serbia and the U.S. pitted two men’s 3x3 gold-medal contenders against one-another in an early litmus test for both. Serbia and the U.S. are the top two teams in the world men’s 3x3 rankings. Serbia came from behind late to topple the U.S. 21-19 in the 2023 World Cup final.