With the support of the home crowd, the French team refused to give up. They fought every single game like boxers, enduring every punch, every 3-point shot, every dunk that tore apart their spirit and will.
The gap of more than 10 points created by the US team was shortened to only 3 points by Victor Wembanyama and his teammates in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, promising extremely tense moments for the 2024 Olympic men’s basketball gold medal match.
But then the hero appeared.
Stephen Curry didn’t really shine in this final until the last 4 minutes of the 4th quarter. Somehow he “came out of nowhere” to coolly hit a 3-pointer to the cheers of the Bercy Arena fans and increased the lead from 3 points to 6.
Then another 3 point.
And then another 3-pointer.
It seemed to have stopped, but Curry continued to send another ball from outside the 6m75 arc in front of two French players.
Scoring 12 points with 4 3-pointers in less than 3 minutes of the match, Stephen Curry almost single-handedly helped the US “knock out” the French team in the gold medal match.
“ I didn’t think about anything else ,” Stephen Curry said of his game-winning 3-pointer with 35 seconds left. “ You don’t really care about anything else, just a shot that you believe is going to go in .”
It wasn’t just a “shot,” it was the most memorable shot of the US team in the 98-87 victory in the 2024 Olympic men’s basketball final. The shot brought the 5th consecutive gold medal to the US team.
At the age of 36, Stephen Curry scored 24 points with 8 successful 3-pointers in the Olympic final. Right behind the “chef” was LeBron James, owner of 14 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
It was the Curry – James duo that helped the US stand firm throughout the 4th quarter before Stephen Curry suddenly exploded in the final minutes of the match.
“ We’ve seen that before. And when we have a shooter like Curry who’s already warmed up, it makes it easier because we just put the ball in his hands, ” Devin Booker said.
This is Stephen Curry’s first Olympics and it hasn’t been an easy start. The Warriors star struggled to find his shooting form in some group stage games, including a 1-8 FG game.
But the US team could not “survive” against Serbia in the semi-finals and could not knock out host France in the finals without Stephen Curry. Through these two matches, the “head chef” threw a total of 17 3-pointers, scoring 60 points for the American team.
“It wasn’t easy, but I enjoyed it. I can’t complain because I achieved everything I wanted to,” Curry said after winning the gold medal.
The world may be catching up to the US when it comes to men’s basketball. But at least at this Olympics, they’re just “catching up” and not yet on par with the US team.
Serbia did everything they could two days ago with smart and effective play. Then the hosts France showed that plus tenacity in a challenging home environment.
Unfortunately, every time the gap with France is reduced to 6 or 8 points, a different star of the US speaks up.
Sometimes it’s LeBron James, sometimes it’s Kevin Durant. Other times it’s Anthony Davis and Devin Booker. And finally, it’s Stephen Curry.
“ Every team in this tournament has a lot of stars, but I’m grateful that the US team has more stars than the rest, ” said coach Steve Kerr.
One day, the U.S. will be defeated. But it won’t be today, where the U.S. will still stand on the highest podium with the “Dream Team” they brought to Paris, France.
