US women’s 3-on-3 basketball team leans on Duke women’s coach in quest for Tokyo Olympics gold.
U.S. players Stefanie Dolson, Jacquelyn Young, Kelsey Plum and Allisha Gray celebrate after defeating the team from Russia in the women’s 3-on-3 gold medal basketball game at the Summer Olympics on Wednesday.
The U.S. women’s 3-on-3 team beat out the team from Russia to win the first-ever gold medal in the dizzyingly fast sport at the Olympics.
They took an early lead against the Russians and maintained it the entire game, with a final score of 18-15.
Stefanie Dolson, who is 6’5 and plays for the Chicago Sky, led the team in scoring with seven points.
“It is incredible,” Dolson said after the game. “Basketball runs deep in the USA and to pull this off and win gold is incredible.”
The action in this sport unfolds over just 10 minutes — or the first to 21 points if that happens more quickly — and play stops much less frequently than traditional basketball. It’s also a lot rougher.
“The hardest part is playing with the pace and playing so physical,” Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces said ahead of Wednesday’s games. “You are getting held and grabbed and pushed every single play and so the freedom of movement is not the same.”
Both teams go for the same basket on a small court. There are four players on each side, and teams shuffle the three actively playing every minute or so.
The U.S. women secured their spot in the final earlier on Wednesday in a tight game against France, with six points each from Plum and Allisha Gray, who is a guard in the WNBA for the Dallas Wings.
If the Olympics had not been postponed, Plum, 26, would not have been able to play.
In June 2020, she experienced a major injury — a torn Achilles tendon. But the extra year gave her enough time to heal and be ready to compete at the Games.
Kara Lawson
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| Duke Blue Devils | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | February 14, 1981 Alexandria, Virginia |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Listed weight | 150 lb (68 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | West Springfield (Springfield, Virginia) |
| College | Tennessee (1999–2003) |
| WNBA draft | 2003 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall |
| Selected by the Detroit Shock | |
| Playing career | 2003–2015 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 20 |
| Coaching career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2003–2009 | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 2010–2013 | Connecticut Sun |
| 2014–2015 | Washington Mystics |
| As coach: | |
| 2019–2020 | Boston Celtics (assistant) |
| 2020–present | Duke |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
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| Stats at WNBA.com | |
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Medals
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Kara Marie Lawson (born February 14, 1981) is the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils women’s basketball team. She is a former American professional women’s basketball player in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a basketball television analyst for ESPN and the Washington Wizards. Lawson primarily played as a shooting guard. She won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Lawson retired from the WNBA in 2015 to focus on her broadcasting career. She began her coaching career as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the NBA in 2019.
Player career
High school
Lawson attended Sidwell Friends School her freshman year, then went to West Springfield High School, where she played on the girls’ basketball and soccer teams. Lawson was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 1999 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored twenty points, and earned MVP honors.
College career
Lawson attended the University of Tennessee (UT) and played for the Lady Vols basketball team, coached by Pat Summitt. She enrolled in UT’s College of Business, and graduated in 2003 with a degree in Finance. Lawson received the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association as the best senior player under 5 ft 8 in (1.7 m). In 2018, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam named Lawson to the Board of Trustees of the University of Tennessee, the governing body of the UT system.
WNBA
On April 24, 2003, Lawson was selected as the fifth overall pick by the Detroit Shock in the first round of the 2003 WNBA draft. But five days later, the Shock traded Lawson to the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for Kedra Holland-Corn and a 2004 second-round draft pick. Two years later, Lawson would be a key member of the Monarchs 2005 championship team.
Lawson was a free agent when the Sacramento Monarchs folded prior to the 2010 WNBA season, but later signed a three-year contract with the Connecticut Sun. On March 12, 2014, Lawson was traded to the Washington Mystics for Alex Bentley, who was originally traded to Washington through the Atlanta Dream.
US national team
Lawson was selected to be a member of the United States national team at the 2001 World University Games held in Beijing, China. After winning the opening game easily, the USA team faced Canada and lost a close game 68–67. Needing a win to remain in medal contention, Lawson scored 25 points to help the USA team defeat Japan, and earn a spot in the quarterfinals. The USA team fell behind by 12 points against undefeated Russia, but came back to win the game by eleven points. The next game was against the unbeaten host team China, and the USA team won 89–78. The USA team won their next two games to set up the gold medal game; a rematch against the host team. China would stay close early, but the USA team prevailed and won the gold medal with a score of 87–67. Lawson was the third leading scorer on the team with 12.0 points per game and led the team in assists and steal with 16 assists and 12 steals over the course of the event.
On July 10, 2008, Lawson was selected to represent the United States with the USA women’s national basketball team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. She helped the United States capture the gold medal, and led the team in points (15) during the gold medal game against Australia, going a perfect 5-5 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line.
Lawson was invited to the USA Basketball Women’s National Team training camp in the fall of 2009. The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team will travel to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.
Lawson was one of 21 finalists for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team Roster. The 20 professional women’s basketball players, plus one collegiate player (Brittney Griner), were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee to compete for the final roster to represent the US at the 2012 Olympics in London, United Kingdom. However, Lawson did not make the final roster.
Player statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career high | ° | League leader | ||||
College
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-00 | Tennessee | 37 | 504 | 45.8 | 43.6 | 81.7 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 13.6 |
| 2000-01 | Tennessee | 34 | 386 | 43.3 | 41.3 | 85.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 11.4 |
| 2001-02 | Tennessee | 34 | 512 | 46.6 | 33.0 | 83.5 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 15.1 |
| 2002-03 | Tennessee | 38 | 548 | 46.9 | 45.0 | 88.4 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 14.4 |
| Career | Tennessee | 143 | 1950 | 45.8 | 41.5 | 84.7 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 13.6 |
WNBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Sacramento | 34 | 0 | 22.6 | .392 | .400 | .775 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 7.7 |
| 2004 | Sacramento | 34 | 10 | 24.3 | .420 | .381 | .841 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 8.6 |
| 2005 | Sacramento | 24 | 1 | 21.2 | .439 | .444 | .839 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 8.0 |
| 2006 | Sacramento | 34 | 6 | 22.1 | .397 | .398 | .923 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 8.1 |
| 2007 | Sacramento | 34 | 0 | 22.8 | .376 | .338 | .841 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 11.0 |
| 2008 | Sacramento | 32 | 32 | 25.9 | .405 | .432 | .914 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 12.2 |
| 2009 | Sacramento | 25 | 5 | 24.2 | .380 | .336 | .939 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 8.8 |
| 2010 | Connecticut | 34 | 32 | 25.1 | .409 | .359 | .895 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 8.3 |
| 2011 | Connecticut | 33 | 8 | 25.2 | .449 | .430 | .890 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 10.4 |
| 2012 | Connecticut | 34 | 34 | 31.4 | .493 | .430 | .935 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 15.1 |
| 2013 | Connecticut | 9 | 6 | 30.1 | .437 | .458 | .857 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 13.8 |
| 2014 | Washington | 28 | 4 | 21.8 | .379 | .337 | .935 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 7.0 |
| 2015 | Washington | 22 | 21 | 25.0 | .389 | .321 | .938 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 9.6 |
| Career | 13 years, 3 teams | 377 | 159 | 24.5 | .414 | .390 | .890 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 9.8 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Sacramento | 6 | ? | 25.7 | .214 | .304 | .875 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 5.3 |
| 2004 | Sacramento | 6 | ? | 25.5 | .370 | .417 | .889 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 8.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 9.7 |
| 2005 | Sacramento | 8 | ? | 26.0 | .433 | .517 | .944 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 8.0 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 11.3 |
| 2006 | Sacramento | 9 | ? | 32.1 | .448 | .438 | .786 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 9.0 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 12.2 |
| 2007 | Sacramento | 3 | ? | 25.0 | .500 | .385 | .857 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 12.3 |
| 2008 | Sacramento | 3 | ? | 27.0 | .478 | .375 | .800 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 9.7 |
| 2011 | Connecticut | 2 | ? | 18.5 | .400 | .571 | .750 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 7.5 |
| 2012 | Connecticut | 5 | ? | 35.0 | .442 | .433 | 1.000 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 6.0 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 14.6 |
| 2014 | Washington | 2 | ? | 26.0 | .526 | .444 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 14.5 |
| 2015 | Washington | 3 | ? | 16.7 | .353 | .750 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 6.0 |
| Career | 10 years, 3 teams | 47 | ? | 27.1 | .413 | .436 | .897 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 39.0 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 10.4 |
Broadcasting career
Lawson began her broadcasting career while still playing in the WNBA. She served as a studio analyst for the Sacramento Kings, and worked her way up to working in a variety of NBA and WNBA broadcast roles for ESPN. On January 12, 2007, she was the first woman to work as a nationwide broadcast analyst for an NBA game, when the New Orleans Hornets took on the Washington Wizards.
In 2017, Lawson was named the primary television game analyst for the Washington Wizards, replacing longtime analyst Phil Chenier as full-time host. She is one of the first primary female TV analysts for an NBA team, joining Sarah Kustok of the Brooklyn Nets.
Coaching career
On June 27, 2019, the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that Lawson would join the team as an assistant coach. During her tenure as assistant coach in the 2019–20 season, Lawson worked closely with Marcus Smart, a defensive-minded point guard, as a shooting coach.
On July 11, 2020, it was announced that Lawson was hired as the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils women’s basketball team. Her first season as head coach lasted four games after the decision to end the season in late December 2020 due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Blue Devils (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2020–present) | |||||||||
| 2020–21 | Duke | 3–1 | 0–1 | ||||||
| Duke: | 3–1 (.750) | 0–1 (.000) | |||||||
| Total: | 3–1 (.750) | ||||||||
| National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion |
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Personal life
Lawson is married to Damien Barling, whom she met while working in Sacramento soon after the Monarchs’ WNBA championship win. They were married in April 2008. Barling is a radio broadcaster in the Sacramento area for ESPN 1320. He also interviewed Lawson on his show following her officially being named as color analyst.
Notes
Kara Lawson has spent five years in coaching, a profession that has taken to her to a NBA bench and presently the helm of the Duke Blue Devils’ women’s basketball program. Her name has been floated for in the NBA head-coaching rumor mill.
But the former WNBA All-Star actually started her coaching career in the 3-on-3 format.
“As my 3-on-3 responsibilities grew,” Lawson told USA TODAY Sports via video call, “I also became a 5-on-5 coach at the same time.”
It was in her first year coaching 3-on-3, 2017, Lawson helped lead the U-18 3-on-3 team to gold at the World Cup in China. USA Basketball then asked her to coach the U-18 men’s side. More success followed, and she began working with G League and WNBA players in her first exposure to the senior squads.
Eventually, Lawson became the official “adviser” – 3-on-3 teams don’t have official coaches like 5-on-5 teams do – for the women’s 3-on-3 Olympic team.
At the Tokyo Olympics, the team has been a bright spot for Team USA. The roster of four won their first six games before losing to host Japan. By then, they’d secured the best record in group play and a bye into the semifinals against France, which will take place Wednesday at 4 a.m. EDT. The gold- or bronze-medal contest will take place later that day.
“I feel like we’ve gotten better throughout the tournament and we’ve put ourselves in position to win, just like three other teams,” Lawson said.
The mentality heading into medal day?
Win two, win gold.
Overcoming hurdles
Adversity, and the reality of holding an Olympics during a pandemic, hit Lawson’s squad before they even left for Tokyo when former Connecticut standout and Seattle Storm guard Katie Lou Samuelson tested positive for COVID-19.
“She was a big part of her team. Losing her a few days before we left (for Tokyo) was a big blow for our team,” Lawson said. “The mission didn’t change. Why we came over here didn’t change, regardless of who’s on our team.”
Jacquelyn Young replaced Samuelson on the roster. The other three players – Allisha Gray (5.4 ppg), Kelsey Plum (6.3 ppg) and Stefanie Dolson (5.6 ppg) – have done most of the scoring.
“(Young has) done a great job for us of keeping things up. She was on the beach somewhere, I think,” Lawson joked.
One of the major differences in the 3-on-3 format is the length of games, which last 10 minutes, or the first team to reach 21 points. Letting the game come to you is not an option. It’s on from the first check.
“You have to play hard,” Lawson said. “You might be saying, ‘Of course you have to play hard.'”
Other essentials for 3-on-3, Lawson said, are skill and toughness, given physicality of the discipline. Most of all, though, she said her crew possesses the necessary mental aptitude.
For example, the U.S. played Italy first on Monday and then China a couple of hours later. Each victory required different strategies.
“You have to have players that can, from an intelligence standpoint, handle different game plans and still be able to execute,” Lawson said.
‘Have to trust what I’ve taught them’
With no coach allowed on the bench to bark instructions or call plays, Lawson has been watching the games in the intimate setting of Aomi Urban Sports Park. But remember, being unable to roam sideline is nothing new for this “unique creature” in coaching.
“I started not being able to coach in games,” Lawson said, referencing her 3-on-3 roots. “That’s all I do. So the fact that in 5-on-5 they let you coach in games, that’s like a big bonus for me. My normal is not being able to coach (during games).
“It’s all I’ve known.”
It’s only a 10-minute game, after all, and the players listen to her the other 23 hours and 50 minutes of the day, she joked.
“I just have to trust what I’ve taught them,” Lawson said more seriously.
The 2008 Olympic gold medalist estimates she’s coached more than 100 players in 3-on-3.
“I haven’t had a player yet that didn’t love it – not like it,” she says. “Love it.”
It’s not a passion that is clear immediately – the format can be a difficult adjustment at first.
“I don’t know where it goes,” Lawson said of 3-on-3 competitions. “I do know from a big-picture standpoint, it does allow more countries to field competitive teams and have the chance to play in international tournaments.”
Smaller countries or federations without resources to sustain a successful 5-on-5 operation, such as Mongolia, which qualified on the women’s side, can have places on the world stage.
“You just need four players and a coach,” she said. “If you’re a smaller country you might not have 12 good players to field a 5-on-5, but you might have four.”
In the short term, three teams will be feeling low without the gold, Lawson said. She and the foursome are determined to feel the highs that come with the 3-on-3 game.
“This game is unpredictable … it’s a cruel game,” Lawson said. “Over five years of being in the sport, I’ve seen so many endings, so many different types of games happen. So many games I think we’re going to lose and then we win. It’s just a 10-minute rollercoaster.
“It’s great theatre.”
