LAS VEGAS — There are athletes who get recognized in public, and there are athletes who literally stop traffic. Even more than a decade removed from the height of his fame as a college basketball star, Jimmer Fredette is among the latter. On a recent picture-perfect day in Marseille, France, Fredette decided to walk the one mile to his team’s practice ahead of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour, a sport that was added to the Olympics in 2020.
Packed with vacationers that late May afternoon, cars sped past heading to and from the beautiful Mediterranean beaches. Then everything halted. A man on a motorized bike pulled up next to Fredette and shut off the gas in the middle of the street.
“Is that Jimmer?” he yelled to the sidewalk as irate drivers honked behind him. “Jimmer! Jimmer!” “Get your bike and bring it over!” Team USA 3x3 coach Joe Lewandowski, standing next to Fredette, called back, hoping to ease tensions. “He comes over and wants a picture.
This happens all the time.” JimmerMania, more than 13 years later, is still in full effect. Fredette, the former BYU guard who took the basketball world by storm from 2007-2011, doesn’t look much different these days.
At 35, he still has the same baby face with light stubble that graced multiple Sports Illustrated covers. He still has the same short, dark hair he’s donned since his time in Provo, Utah. And he still has the same game.
Elite long-range shooting ability to quiet an opposing crowd. Dribbling skills that .