The greatest shooter in the history of Basketball Stephen Curry, flew the flag for the United States at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Fittingly, he helped close it out. Carrying Team USA Men’s Basketball to Olympic Gold emphatically. ‘Chef’ Curry cooked France for USA Gold, scoring 28 points and knocking down eight three-pointers, including some truly jaw-dropping shots down the stretch. Hitting four insanely clutch threes in a two-minute stretch in the 4th Quarter. The Golden State Warriors legend put on a show and then put them to sleep with his trademark celebration.
STEPHEN. CURRY.
Night night 😴🏅 pic.twitter.com/51W7mXcUWV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 10, 2024
The US has had a generally excellent Olympics winning 122 medals at the current count, 30 more than the next nation. Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles particularly starred, but Steph Curry was every bit as much of a star on this day.
It’s not easy for Men’s USA Basketball. It’s almost a no-win situation for them. They are expected to win by a wide margin, yet this is a global game with ascending talent all over the globe. No one can match the USA’s depth though. An entire team of megastars is so good, that they have Lebron James one of the greatest ever, playing beside two of the greatest shooters ever in MVPs Kevin Durant and Curry. At the bottom of the bench for two games was the unused Jayson Tatum Boston’s main man in their title run and perennial MVP candidate. Thus showing the depth of this team.
Winning four straight Olympic Golds coming into this Summer, and being compared to the ’92 Dream Team, it’s not easy to reach expectations. They faced tough challenges this summer and they came out on top, whilst representing the Stars and Stripes with pride.
Paris Olympics: Steph Curry’s Heroics In The Gold Medal Game
USA Edge Tight Affair
It was a tight affair, and credit to France, they refused to give up. The final score of 98-87 perhaps didn’t tell the whole story, as the French remained within two possessions through much of the contest. Much of that is thanks to Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. He played a magnificent game scoring 26 points for his nation.
France battled hard on the glass. For instance, they had more offensive rebounds than Team USA (13-10). They had as many steals (10 each) and had fewer turnovers. They even went to the charity stripe double that of the USA. However, the biggest difference was from behind the perimeter. The US hit 50% from three, hitting 18 of 36. Meanwhile, France only managed 9/30. Much of that credit goes to Steph Curry in a mesmerizing showing on World Basketball’s biggest stage.
Other notable contributions came from Kevin Durant, hitting several clutch buckets. Anthony Davis had his best game with four blocks and 1o boards. He was the best defender on the court by a mile. Unsung hero Devin Booker dropped 15, playing hard on both ends of the court. LeBron notched 14 and dropped 10 dimes, playing selfless team-ball showing what a leader he is. Still, much of the praise must fall at the feet of Curry.
Curry Cooked France For USA Gold
First off, there wouldn’t be a final for Team USA to compete in if not for the heroics of Curry. In the Semi-final game, the US was getting cooked by Nikola Jokic‘s Serbia for the first three-quarters of the contest. Down double figures, it was looking dire.
Carmelo Anthony, the previous era’s Olympic Basketball hero with three golds to his name, took it upon himself from the stands to pull Lebron aside and call out some plays. Helping out Coach Steve Kerr, because whatever he said worked as the US pulled the deficit back, won, and Lebron produced a triple-double.
Curry’s heroics in the Semi can’t be understated. Durant described it as “Godlike,” as Curry dropped 36 points putting the team on his back with an avalanche of threes to help his country to the final.
He didn’t disappoint in the final either. The French pressed the US throughout the contest, not allowing any space. Rudy Gobert is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year and Wembanyama has the wing span of a giant so spaces were limited on the court for the US to play their usual uptempo game. Not a problem for Curry, however. He ducked and weaved for space, his patented head fakes and footwork gave him just enough room to knock down 8-12 threes.
The back-breaking three and the most amazing shot came with 33 seconds left in regulation. In only a six-point game, Curry faced a double-team on the perimeter, Evan Fournier smothering him, and somehow Curry dribbled to his right, faked, and got off an arching shot six feet behind the perimeter over two defenders. Smooth as silk, nothing but net, to win Gold for the USA. Curry Cooked France, his legend continues, and the US remains the cream of the crop.
