Despite his cold start to the 2024 Olympics, Stephen Curry popped off in the final two games for Team USA. His Golden State Warriors teammate Brandin Podziemski recently revealed that Curry predicated and declared he’d catch fire against Serbia and France.
“I was [in Paris] for a couple of games before [the Serbia game] at the time Steph was struggling,” Podziemski said. “It’s actually crazy, he told me and my friends he’s going to go off the next two games. He told us and he did it.”
For someone who was struggling to find his rhythm in the first several games, it’s amazing how Curry managed to brush off the rust and come back dramatically. This proves that Steph is truly one of the greats.
Stephen Curry’s scorching hot performances against Serbia and France
© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
In the final two games of Team USA’s 2024 Olympic journey, Stephen Curry caught fire and shot lights out to help lead his team to victory. What’s even more impressive is that he was coming from a shooting drought.
In their rematch against Serbia in the semifinals, it was mainly Curry who did the dirty work. The Serbians were a tough shell to crack, especially after leading for the majority of the game. Steph did everything in his power to try to keep the game within reach by trading three-point bombs.
However, it wasn’t until Curry’s teammates found their rhythm late in the game that Team USA showed signs of life. Joel Embiid began hitting his shots while LeBron James found solutions to keep the team involved. Thankfully, Curry’s hot hand didn’t go cold as he dealt more damage late in the fourth quarter to complete Team USA’s comeback. Steph finished the game with 36 points and 64.3% shooting from beyond the arc.
Being cold for the majority of the 2024 Olympics, some fans called Curry’s performance against Serbia a fluke. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Curry once again stepped up to the occasion and led Team USA in scoring against France. All 24 of his points came from three-point land. Steph drilled eight out of 12 threes proving to the world why he’s still the greatest shooter there is today.
However, we need to give credit to the rest of Team USA for playing more like a team. Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and James provided solid scoring numbers to support Curry’s shooting outburst. Then Anthony Davis showed up big time on defense coming up with four blocks to help stop France in their tracks.
Nevertheless, huge props go out to Curry for showing up even if it was late in the Olympics. No matter how late it was, those two games against Serbia and France were the most crucial ones.
