Bromley couple Alice and Ashley Hamilton step on to the global streetball stage with new 3x3 basketball team

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In the heart of London, a revolution in British basketball is quietly building momentum on half-courts, with pounding beats, lightning-fast ball movement and a clear mission. The UK’s first professional 3x3 basketball team (@london.3x3), born from the vision of British basketball power couple Alice and Ashley Hamilton.

For those unfamiliar with it, 3x3 basketball is more than just a half-court version of the traditional five-on-five game. It’s an International Basketball Federation (FIBA)-recognised Olympic sport, having debuted at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and offers a unique, high-octane experience both on and off the court.

“It’s a short-format version of basketball that is now an Olympic discipline,” explains Alice, co-founder of London 3x3 and former GB basketball player. “It’s very different from five-on-five. The rules are different, but it formalises the streetball version most people know - fast, aggressive and incredibly exciting.”

Games are played on a half-court - first to 21 points or the highest score within 10 minutes. Teams consist of four players (three on court, one sub) and the clock rarely stops.

The Bromley-based couple founded London 3x3 in October 2024 with a mission to ensure Britain’s best players compete at an elite level all year round, improve national rankings and grow a sport.

“So there’s never been any UK 3x3 team before,” says Alice. “And there was no professional 3x3 player from the UK. My husband was the first.”

Ashley Hamilton, currently ranked 110th in the world, was pivotal in Great Britain’s historic qualification for the 2024 FIBA 3x3 EuroCup, where the national team won four out of five games and finished second overall.

But for all the momentum at the international level, there was a catch. To truly compete and qualify for prestigious tournaments like the World Tour and Olympics, a team must accumulate ranking points. And to do that, you have to play. A lot.

After Ashley’s successful run in the Euro qualifiers and a stint playing professionally in Germany for SV Wiesbaden, the couple hatched a bigger plan. While Ashley was still overseas, Alice had already set up a company. By the time he returned, London 3x3 was born.

“We were travelling the world together. We’ve lived in Spain, France, gone to Canada,” recalls Alice. “Then he started playing for GB 3x3. But we realised that to actually build ranking points and help GB we needed a domestic pro team.”

This ambition brought them to the FIBA headquarters in Switzerland in January 2025, when they negotiated a partnership that would fast-track their dreams.

FIBA, eager to plant a flag in the UK with a first professional team, facilitated a unique partnership between London and Princeton 3x3, a top-10-ranked American side. Under this agreement, London inherited Princeton’s ranking, enabling immediate entry into major competitions.

“We’ve kept the experience of the guys who were on the team last year,” Alice says. “There are a couple of Americans, along with two of our Brits, who are now playing on the World Tour together… the goal is, as of 2026, the London team will be fully UK-based with a fully British roster.”

And the plan is working, with two British players already earning ranking points for Great Britain, helping the British Basketball Federation rise up the global ladder.

A digital game

One of the big appeals of 3x3 is its ability to reach a younger generation, harnessing the power of social media to rack up billions of views around the world.

“I like to call it a digital game,” says Alice. “It’s very engaging online. If you can’t attend, you can still be part of it through highlight clips and live streams. There’s a global community built around this.”

Indeed, 3x3 basketball thrives on digital engagement. Every dunk, assist and defensive stop contributes to ranking points for the player performing them, the team and even the nation.

“A highlight would be, for example, a backdoor cut where someone got dunked on,” Alice laughs. “These plays are the ones that make the highlight reels, get shared online and build buzz.”

But London isn’t just a team. It’s a platform, a brand and a community-building mission wrapped into one. Alice and Ashley have been working to make the team more than just a collection of elite athletes.

“We’re trying hard to build a social platform where people can feel connected with us,” Alice says. “We’re all about the journey.”

Earlier this year, the team hosted their first ‘watch party’ for both the GB qualifiers and London 3x3’s first tournaments. It included a street hoop outside a sports bar in the capital, a themed pub quiz and plenty of giveaways - a grassroots effort to reimagine how British fans engage with basketball.

“We want to bring people together in a different format,” Alice continues. “Whether they love 3x3, 5x5, or just love sport - we want to create an inclusive space.”

For now, London is in preparation mode, using 2025 as a launchpad for a fully British team that will compete globally in 2026 and beyond. But it hasn’t been without challenges.

“Getting sponsorship this year was nearly impossible,” Alice says. “We’ve started something completely new in the UK. We went from nothing to being on the World Tour, ranked 10th in the world.”

Right now, funding comes from the British Basketball Federation, as well as Alice and Ashley themselves.

“We’re a small start-up business, essentially,” she says. “But we’re working toward sponsorship and sustainability by 2026.”

Alice herself is no stranger to pioneering basketball in Britain. Her father, Ken Walton, was the first British professional basketball player and captained GB, playing for teams like Crystal Palace and Solent Stars. After discovering his career at age 10, Alice fell in love with the game.

She went on to represent England and GB, earning a scholarship to the US for high school and college before returning to the UK to focus on her business career - while continuing to contribute to basketball in other ways.

“I could have spent five to 10 years playing pro, but then I’d have to go backwards to start a business career,” she reflects. “So I chose to stay and build from here.”

That entrepreneurial spirit saw her help launch the Thames Valley Cavaliers women’s team, a club still thriving today.

As 3x3 continues to expand its reach globally, with tournaments resembling festivals, complete with DJs, food trucks and viral plays, London 3x3 is positioning itself as the UK’s gateway to a booming global sport. With a top-10-ranked team, a roadmap to an all-British roster and a vision rooted in community, this Bromley couple aren’t just playing for wins, they’re playing for a movement.

INFO: www.london3x3.com