When all-time greats are put into a team, you are likely to expect nothing but sheer dominance. And Steph Curry showed that on the biggest stage in sports. With 34 seconds remaining, he drained an arched three-pointer over Evan Fournier and Nicholas Batum, guarding him with all they got, sealing the 98-87 win over France. As the ball went in, Curry walked towards his team’s bench with his iconic ‘Night, Night’ celebration.
The world watched Curry almost single-handedly shatter any chance of redemption for the hosts who were forced to settle for a silver even in the last edition of the Olympics. However, this time it was a bit different as Team USA fielded all its veteran players from the NBA. And it was Curry’s debut.
The 36-year-old NBA superstar finished with 24 points – all on three-pointers – to receive his first gold, adding to his impeccable resume of being inarguably one of the greatest players of the sport. The NBA, for 15 years, has seen Curry’s elite shooting. And waiting to watch it on the international stage was worth it!
“We always say, ‘Do what the game calls for’,” Curry said. “You just stay confident, stay present and don’t get rattled by the moment. Those last two and a half minutes were special, guys were hyping me up. Like I was saying before, every shot you take you think is going in. That (final one) was a solid flurry of shots. All I saw was the rim, I didn’t see who was in front of me."
On the other hand, France would at no point hand it easy to the US. The 20-year-old Victor Wembanyama led the team with 26 points on 11-for-19 shooting and seven rebounds. With three minutes remaining in the game, Wemby’s three-pointer led France to a 7-0 run closing the gap to 82-79.
Even after desperately trying to put two defenders on Curry, it did not quite matter as the sharpshooter has played every possible defence in his career, even four defenders on him sometimes. His catch-and-shoot and movement without the ball to create the spacing is something that opposing teams have no antidote for.
“The shot-making was just incredible. But under the circumstances, on the road, in Paris, against France for a gold medal, this is storybook stuff. But that’s what Steph does. He likes to be in storybooks,” USA coach Steve Kerr said.
Kerr is also the coach of Curry’s team in the NBA and he has seen thousands of such moments but to see it on the international stage would still be an experience to cherish for the rest of your life.
“You just simply marvel in his talent,” said teammate LeBron James. “Obviously, I’ve seen it before on the opposite side; you’ve just got to keep finding ways to keep getting him the ball.”
Kevin Durant called watching Curry an “out-of-body experience”. Durant finished the game with 15 points. He now has the most points scored by Team USA ever in Olympics and is the first player in men’s Olympic basketball to have won four gold medals.
After USA lost to Germany in the finals of the FIBA World Cup 2023, James had asked all his fellow NBA veterans to team up for the Paris Olympics run. Curry had always admired Durant’s three gold medals and other American athletes representing the US at this highest level of sports. And to get a chance to win his own gold, he was not turning back from that. With James, Curry and Durant on the same team, USA was for sure not losing out on the gold as was evident from James’ golden shoe he wore for the Finals.
"There's a reason these guys sign up for this," Kerr said. "This Olympics are special and all these guys play for two things. They play for NBA championships and Olympic golds. Those are the pinnacles of success as Olympic player and in the NBA and America. It's bigger than almost anything else that you can experience as a group. It's really special. You can't buy this feeling. You can't buy the experience of working with a group and achieving something special."
The win brought the US its fifth gold medal in a row and the 17th gold in the 20 editions that the country participated in. The country has one silver and two bronze medals in the other three editions.
France has seen a surge in enthusiasm for the sport over the years. Wembanyama, NBA’s 2024 Rookie of the Year and the No. 1 2023 draft pick, was in tears after his team did everything they could for the gold. USA was just the better team on the floor but that does not undermine France’s overall talent in any way.
"I'm proud having done what we've done here in France, in front of our fans," said Wembanyama. "I'm going to let it all soak in and realise what's going on. I always try to help my team whenever it's needed. I'm ready to make any sacrifice.”
Even in the 2024 NBA Draft, the No.1 and No.2 draft picks were French players – Zaccharie Risacher and Alexandre Sarr. With the growing talent and the love for the game within the country, a gold medal is not a far-fetched dream.