NEW YORK — The only thing Stephen Curry cared about this summer was going to France and returning with a gold medal. After forming an “Avengers” superteam with the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and other All-NBA talents, USA Basketball was once again the favorite to claim gold at the Olympics. Although the Americans ran into trouble in their final two battles against Serbia and France, it was Curry who answered the call and ultimately led the team to their gold medal status in “storybook” fashion.
Steph Curry was fantastic during this summer’s games, and the Golden State Warriors legend had an “unreal” experience in France for a multitude of reasons.
“Paris was unreal. First Olympic experience,” Curry reflected at an exclusive Under Armour event at the NBPA offices on Tuesday in Manhattan. “I’ve played international basketball before on the World Cup team in 2010 and 2014, so I kinda knew all the feelings and stuff, but I didn’t really know about the whole Olympic experience with being a fan of the other athletes, going to other events, and the hype and energy around those two weeks.
“It delivered not just with us winning the gold and how I played those last two games, but just the experience as a whole. Every person on that team, all 12 guys were there for a specific reason.”
Aside from being starstruck at other events, such as watching Simone Biles and Suni Lee compete in gymnastics, Curry left everyone in France in awe due to his performances on the hardwood. Nothing was easy for Curry to begin the Olympics, as he didn’t score more than 11 points in any of Team USA’s three group stage games against Serbia, South Sudan, and Puerto Rico. He even scored just seven points against Brazil in the quarterfinals.
However, Curry exploded with 36 points against Serbia in the semifinals, a game the Americans won by only four points late in the fourth quarter. The NBA’s best shooter of all time then followed up this performance with 24 points against France in the gold medal game, a matchup that will forever be remembered in USA Basketball history due to Steph’s heroics in the winding moments of the battle against Victor Wembanyama and Co.
Curry made four of Team USA’s final five shots over the last three minutes of the gold medal game, and all of them were from beyond the arc. The most impressive aspect of these made shots was their difficulty, especially an off-balance, fadeaway three over two French defenders with 30 seconds remaining in the game that sealed the deal and prompted Curry to hit his signature “night, night” celebration.
“To wrap up those Serbia and France games the way that we did was storybook stuff and I still can’t explain. It was a special, special experience for my first Olympics experience to close it out like that,” Curry explained. “Those last three minutes of the France game… those shots were just moments that you hope you live up to. Those are reps and shots I shoot all the time, so it didn’t really matter what the stage is. I got ultimate confidence and faith in myself and I am obviously glad they went in.
“Beating France in France in that environment was something that I could never imagine. Memories for a lifetime.”
The sheer idea of Steph and LeBron teaming up with one another on Team USA after being bitter rivals that faced off against one another in four straight NBA Finals series is something that captivated the NBA audience. What left everyone speechless and shaking their heads in disbelief was Curry putting the entire nation on his back and leading this team of superstars and future Hall of Famers to a gold medal.
Even though the Americans were expected to take home the gold medal in men’s basketball, this may not have been accomplished without Curry. These two performances against Serbia and France will forever go down as two of the greatest international performances by any player, and they will be remembered as legacy moments in Curry’s flawless career.
You can’t write a book any better than this story ended in France. Curry was fantastic, and these shots and moments leading up to his first gold medal are exactly how he described them: “storybook stuff.”
