From the courts of Amsterdam to Place de la Concorde, the Dutch forward found a second basketball life in 3×3 Basketball, and used it to change what his country believes is possible.
Under the Paris sky in August 2024, with the Netherlands and France locked at the end of regulation, the ball left Worthy de Jong’s hand and the arena fell silent. Then it dropped, and the Netherlands had beaten the hosts 18-17 in overtime to win the Olympic 3×3 Basketball final, with a two-pointer that has already become part of Dutch sporting folklore.
The shot capped a path that began far from the Eiffel Tower. De Jong was born on 14 March 1988 in Paramaribo, Suriname, and was named after Lakers great James Worthy. His family moved to Amsterdam when he was two. He picked up basketball at 11, following his father, a former player.
By the time 3×3 Basketball entered his life, de Jong had already built a full career in the five-a-side game. He was a Dutch league MVP and a fixture of the national team for a decade, playing at EuroBasket in 2015 and 2022. He closed that chapter after the 2021-22 season by winning the first BNXT League championship with ZZ Leiden. He has said the love had begun to fade, and that he needed something new.
3×3 Basketball gave it back. With more space and a faster tempo, his creativity and flair became weapons, and he describes himself as a student of the game again. The Netherlands, meanwhile, had finished fifth at the Tokyo Games and were rebuilding around a close-knit group of friends. Chemistry, de Jong says, was what set that squad apart.
In Paris he carried the Dutch flag at the opening ceremony and then led the team through the tournament to a final against host nation France, earning the Olympic MVP award. The momentum carried on: later that year, Team Amsterdam won the 2024 World Tour Final in Hong Kong, with de Jong named MVP again.
The gold came at a personal cost. Being in Paris without his children was, he says, the hardest part, though his partner and friends were in the stands. The medal, he reflects, brought confirmation that his team belonged at the top, and a change in how people see him: as a winner.
What he has done since is arguably his most lasting work. A court in Amsterdam Zuidoost now bears his name as the Worthy Legacy 3×3 Court. He has become a familiar face on Dutch television and in print, and he mentors young players, with a simple ambition: to leave Dutch basketball better than he found it.
At 38, he is still competing at the top. He plays for Amsterdam RABOBANK alongside fellow Olympic champion Dimeo van der Horst. This week he arrives in Dubai for the FIBA 3×3 World Tour’s first-ever stop in the emirate, a long way from the Amsterdam courts where it began.
WORTHY DE JONG AT A GLANCE
Born 14 March 1988, Paramaribo, Suriname; raised in Amsterdam
Olympics
Gold, men’s 3×3 Basketball, Paris 2024 (Netherlands); tournament MVP; Dutch flag bearer at the opening ceremony
Five-a-side
Dutch league MVP; EuroBasket 2015 and 2022; BNXT League champion with ZZ Leiden (2022)World Tour
Amsterdam RABOBANK; 2024 World Tour Final champion with Team Amsterdam (Hong Kong) and MVP
Legacy
Worthy Legacy 3×3 Court, Amsterdam Zuidoost; mentors young players
Next
FIBA 3×3 World Tour Dubai, Festival Bay, Dubai Festival City Mall, 6-7 November 2026
