Kristian Winfield: Gold? Winless Team USA men’s 3×3 basketball team likely won’t sniff bronze.

Team USA can likely kiss gold goodbye in at least one of its events in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

USA Basketball’s men’s three-on-three team extended its losing streak to four games and fell to an 0-4 record after two losses on Thursday: first a 20-18 loss to Lithuania, then — after a rain delay impacting all outdoor Olympic sports in Paris — a gut-wrenching 21-19 loss to Latvia, the country claiming gold in the inaugural 3×3 tournament in the Tokyo Olympics.

Team USA played its best basketball of the Olympics as the team’s captain, former BYU standout, 2011 college basketball Player of the Year, and top-10 pick in the 2011 NBA draft, Jimmer Fredette, watched from the sidelines, clearly limited by a thigh injury suffered in Wednesday’s loss to Poland.

In fact, without Fredette, the USA’s 3×3 men’s squad came just a 2-pointer away from pulling off the upset against the reigning gold medalists when a 3-0 start and extended 11-5 run became a 19-15 lead with just 3:08 left on the clock.

And then the champions did what champions do: Latvia found a way to win, holding the short-handed Americans scoreless the rest of the way. Nauris Miezis led the way with 10 points and hit four 2-pointers, plus the pair of assists, punching the Latvians’ ticket to victory.

You have to give credit, however, where credit is due.

After the Americans mustered just 14 points in the opening eight-point loss to Serbia, then another 17 points in the two-point loss to Poland, the short-handed trio of Canyon Barry, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis combined to play every minute in their pair of Thursday matchups with Fredette cheering, and coaching, from the sidelines.

Barry caught fire and scored nine points against Lithuania then another 10 against Latvia, and Team USA scored 37 points in their two Thursday games combined after posting just 31 against Serbia and Poland in games Fredette played healthy.

That’s all for the credit. Now comes a sobering dose of reality.

Team USA ranks dead last in pool play and is the only winless 3×3 basketball team in the 2024 Olympics, men’s or women’s.

Which means USA Basketball, while on pace for gold in both men’s and women’s five-on-five tournaments, likely won’t even advance past the first round in 3×3.

That’s because while the top two teams — currently Latvia (4-0) and Serbia (3-1) — advance directly to the semifinals, the bottom two teams are outright eliminated. China is one win better than Team USA with a 1-3 record, then there are four countries (France, Lithuania, Netherlands and Poland) tied with a 2-2 record.

And with only seven games in pool play before the knockout rounds begin, the best-case scenario for Team USA is now a 3-4 record, and they are unlikely to run the table — despite a pair of valiant efforts in Fredette’s absence on Thursday — given France, China and Netherlands are left on the docket.

There is, however, one saving grace for Team USA: Olympic tie-breaker rules, which favor the team winning the head-to-head matchup.

With three games left (France on Friday at 12:35 p.m., China on Friday at 4:35 p.m., then the finale against Netherlands on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.), there are two paths to the second round for the Americans.

Ideally Team USA wins out to finish 3-4, but they must beat China, and they must secure a victory against one of France or Netherlands. The Americans would then need some luck: USA Basketball needs China to lose all of its remaining games to finish with a 1-6 record. Team USA also needs whichever team it beats in this scenario between Netherlands and France (who are currently each 2-2) to also lose the remainder of their games to finish with a 2-5 record.

Should this happen, Team USA would then finish in sixth place with the tiebreaker over Netherlands or France and a better record than China. USA Basketball would then live to see the knockout rounds, where Fredette would be probable, either to have healed from his thigh injury or play through the pain with a shot at gold on the line.

It’s all wishful thinking, however, for a team that has yet to secure a victory, wishful thinking for a team that could be without its best player on Friday, wishful thinking for a team unable to tap into the scores of basketball talent in the NBA and its developmental G-League courtesy of the roster-building rules FIBA imposed on the 3×3 game.

At least the 5×5 teams are favorites to dominate the international basketball scene.

The 3×3 team has heart, but not enough talent, and talent wins gold medals.