Čavars warns Latvia's 3x3 basketball team must prepare for generational change now
Former Latvia 3x3 basketball national team player Agnis Čavars warns that the squad needs to start planning a generational shift instead of waiting until it becomes unavoidable.
Latvia's 3x3 basketball national team has built an impressive record in recent years, including Olympic gold in Tokyo, a fourth-place finish in Paris, and strong results on the World Tour. In 2026 the team went on to win both the World and European championship titles.
Despite these achievements, Agnis Čavars, one of the players who helped build the program's success, says the team needs to start thinking now about what comes next for its roster.
No replacement after Tokyo
After the Tokyo Olympics, there were calls to replace both Čavars and Edgars Krūmiņš with younger players. Čavars explains that at the time there weren't enough experienced players ready to step straight into an Olympic-level squad.
He argues it would have been a mistake to field athletic but inexperienced players purely to force a changeover, since it was the more experienced teammates who had delivered the results.
A warning against waiting too long
Čavars stresses that a generational shift should not begin only after the previous generation has already left the team, since that could create a critical situation requiring hasty decisions. He warns that at some point the team may be forced to abruptly change course and bring in a new lineup without adequate preparation.
How current key players Nauris Miezis and Kārlis Lasmanis would react to such changes remains an open question.
