Samsung is playing ball with the Netherlands at the 2024 Olympics

Basketball is the fastest growing sport in the Netherlands. Now, the Dutch Basketball Association has entered a 3-year partnership with the Korean tech giant Samsung.

The company will support basketball in its entirety as a sponsor. But interestingly, Samsung says its main focus in the run-up to the 2024 Summer Olympics will be 3×3 basketball.

Streetball is taking over, and Samsung is there for it

Not only is Basketball the fastest growing sport in the Netherlands, with the country earning eleven medals at the European and World Championships over the past two years, but 3×3 basketball has also become the number one urban team sport globally.

3-on-3 street basketball, or streetball, puts two teams of three players against one another in matches that last up to 10 minutes or until one team scores 21 points.

Because streetball has a different set of rules than court basketball, it makes for a dynamic and spectacular game with innovative moves and great teamwork, where quick decision-making skills can make the difference between winning and losing.

Samsung is supporting all the Dutch 3×3 basketball teams at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris. The men's teams have at least two chances to qualify for the Olympic Games, while the women's teams can participate in three qualifying tournaments as European champions.

Exactly how Samsung will support the basketball teams in the Netherlands isn't entirely clear, and we don't know if the players will get money and/or Samsung devices out of this partnership. However, the director of the Dutch Basketball Federation, Maarten Hoffer, says:

“Our sport is growing in every possible way. The fact that a leading, innovative brand like Samsung is committed to our sport as a partner shows where Dutch basketball stands: we are proud of that. Samsung has all the knowledge and technology in-house to help make basketball, and 3×3 basketball in particular, even better and more popular in our country.”