MIES (Switzerland) - From the moment she first picked up a basketball, Hailey Van Lith knew the game would shape her life.
Growing up as the youngest sibling in a basketball-loving household, Van Lith spent countless hours around the sport while her father coached her older brother’s team. Eventually, curiosity turned into opportunity, and opportunity turned into love.
"I started playing when I was about seven or eight in the local rec league," Van Lith recalled. "I immediately fell in love. Basketball satisfied a competitive drive in me that nothing else really did. From the first time I picked it up, I knew it was my first love by far."
That love would eventually carry her from local courts in the United States to the global stage of 3x3 basketball, where she has become one of the most recognizable faces of the discipline.
The journey, however, has required more than talent.
Growing up in the spotlight
Van Lith’s rise through the ranks of American basketball came with intense expectations. From a young age, she played under the spotlight of fans, media attention and constant scrutiny.
Yet rather than allowing the pressure to define her, she has learned to view it as part of the growth process.
"It definitely comes with expectations," she said. "But what I’ve learned is those expectations only impact you if you allow them to. Growing up in the spotlight has positives because you have fans, but you also have people that aren’t fans."
Over time, learning to navigate that environment reshaped her perspective not just as an athlete but as a person.
"It’s changed the way I approach life in every facet, not just basketball," she explained. "It’s been hard and I work on it every day, but I’m grateful for it because it’s helped me grow a lot as a person."
Discovering a different game
Van Lith’s connection to 3x3 basketball began early. At just 16, she was invited to the USA Junior National Championship in Colorado Springs, where a handpicked team competed against experienced squads already familiar with the format.
Up to that point, she had only played traditional basketball. The half-court discipline immediately offered something different.
"It complemented my style of play really well," she said. "I had so much joy when I played. It was refreshing, and it kind of filled my cup back up for me before going back to basketball."
That balance between the two formats continues to define her career today.
"Every time I play 3x3, it refreshes me and gets me to a place where I feel confident again," she said.
The physical nature of the game also stood out immediately.
"The physicality was one of the things that stood out the most, and I loved that," Van Lith said. "I love playing physical, so it allowed me to capitalize on something that was already a strength of mine."
Learning on the world stage
As she progressed to the senior level of international 3x3 basketball competition, Van Lith quickly realized that experience alone would not be enough.
At the elite level, the difference often comes down to basketball IQ.
"When you’re younger you can get away with being more athletic or skilled," she explained. "But when I stepped into the senior level, the players I was playing against were thinking the game at such a high level that you can’t rely on natural talent alone."
The adjustment pushed her to become a more complete player.
"It forced me to think the game at a higher IQ level, and that’s helped me not just in 3x3 but also in basketball."
Competing around the world through the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series has also expanded her perspective beyond the court.
"3x3 has exposed me to cultures and cities all over the world," she said. "It’s made me realize that when my offseason comes around, I want to go back and spend more time in some of those places."
The experience also reinforced something universal about the sport.
"You might not speak the same language, but the love of basketball beats at the same frequency everywhere."
Olympic memories
Van Lith’s journey reached a defining moment at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where she helped Team USA capture a bronze medal in women’s 3x3 basketball.
The Olympic environment, she says, is impossible to fully describe.
"It’s another level. It’s hard to put into words," she said. "But the thing that impacted me the most was getting to see my family experience it with me."
For many of her relatives, it was their first trip to Europe and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Allowing my family to experience that and share that joy with me was the best part by far."
The tournament itself demanded resilience. Team USA entered the event with a relatively new lineup facing veteran international squads that had years of chemistry.
"We were a newer group trying to learn each other while playing extremely experienced teams," she said. "We had some very low moments, but we never let those moments break us."
Instead, the team responded with adaptability and perseverance.
"We had to be open to change because what we were doing at the beginning wasn’t good enough," Van Lith said. "Being willing to adjust quickly while being physically and mentally fatigued was probably what the Olympics demanded the most."
In the end, the bronze medal carried meaning beyond the result itself.
"Obviously the standard for Team USA is gold, but we’re still proud of that bronze," she said. "We persevered and earned a place on the podium."
Special place in her heart
Following her Olympic performance, Van Lith was named USA Basketball’s 2024 3x3 Female Athlete of the Year. It's a recognition she views as affirmation of the work she has put into the sport.
"When you have faith and you work hard and you put those together, things work out in their own timing," she said. "That award was evidence that the process I had been on was working."
For Van Lith, 3x3 basketball will always hold a unique emotional connection.
"I’m very emotionally attached to basketball. It's my first love," she said. "3x3 holds a special place in my heart because of the joy it brings when I play."
And the story is far from finished.
With another Olympic cycle underway, Van Lith is already focused on earning another chance to represent the United States, potentially on home soil at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
"Nothing is guaranteed with Team USA," she said. "I have to prove they need me on that team again."
It is a challenge she welcomes.
"I’m excited for the journey," Van Lith said. "The possibility of competing for an Olympic team again, especially with it being in LA where my family could be there. That would mean so much more than just basketball."
Love outweighs noise
Even as her career continues to rise across multiple stages of the game, though, Van Lith has learned that the spotlight that comes with success is something every elite athlete must learn to navigate.
"It definitely comes with expectations," she said. "But what I’ve learned is those expectations only impact you if you allow them to. Growing up in the spotlight has positives because you have fans, but you also have people that aren’t fans."
For Van Lith, that perspective has become part of her evolution. It's a reminder that the noise surrounding the game can never outweigh the love she has for it. And on the half-court, where intensity, emotion and creativity collide in every possession, she continues to rediscover the same feeling that first drew her to the game as a young girl.
Because for Hailey Van Lith, 3x3 basketball is more than discipline she loves. It's a place where passions and joy come together, and where her journey is still very much unfolding.
FIBA