FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup team includes 3 WNBA starters, 1 Ivy League standout

The 2024 USA 3x3 Women’s AmeriCup Team has been officially announced, and there’s a particularly intriguing selection on the four-player roster: Abbey Hsu, a Columbia University standout.

Next week, Hsu will join Azurá Stevens, Maddie Siegrist, and Brittney Sykes in Puerto Rico for a 3x3 competition, where they’ll compete against other countries in the Americas. Hsu stands out from the list of selected players in that she’s the only one not currently playing in the WNBA.

Stevens, Siegrist, and Sykes are all WNBA starters who average near — or around — double figures. Stevens averaged 9.6 points and 7 rebounds per game on the Los Angeles Sparks this season, Siegrist averaged 9.4 points on 50.5% shooting on the Dallas Wings, and Sykes put up 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on the Mystics. Sykes and Stevens will also play in Unrivaled this winter, which tips off on January 17th in Miami.

Hsu, meanwhile, was drafted with the No. 34 pick by the Connecticut Sun after a standout career with Columbia University. She didn’t report to Sun training camp this past Spring nor play in the WNBA this past season — but she is presumed to attend Sun training camp in the coming years. Whether or not she will ultimately have a career in the WNBA remains to be seen.

Still, Hsu beat out a slew of WNBA rotation players who were vying for a spot don’t the team. Nine other players participated in the developmental camp in Phoenix in November but were ultimately not selected: Shakira Austin (Washington Mystics), Grace Berger, Rae Burrell (Los Angeles Sparks), Emily Engstler (Mystics), Natasha Howard (Dallas Wings), Taylor Mikesel, Alissa Pili (Minnesota Lynx), Jaylyn Sherrod (New York Liberty), and Sug Sutton (Mystics).

Hsu, a 5’ 11 guard had a standout career at Columbia, averaging 20.4 points and 7.3 rebounds in her senior season. She became the first woman to ever get drafted out of the university after being named Ivy League Player of the Year in 2024.

The FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup is a tournament held annually since 2021. The U.S. women won in 2021 and 2023, and came in third in 2022. This year, the tournament will take place from December 12 to 15 in San Juan, and feature the U.S., Canada, Chile, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cayman Islands, and Cuba. Each 3x3 game will be played to 21 points, on a half-court with a 10-minute game clock. The tournament will stream live on YouTube.com/FIBA3x3.