North Carolina’s own Steph Curry had perhaps one of the greatest performances in sports this year.
The four-time NBA Champion added perhaps the final piece to his Hall-of-Fame career as he helped lead Team USA to yet another gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer.
“It’s special,” Curry said in an interview with NBC Sports following the championship game. “Two years ago, when we won our last championship, I knew this was going to be on the horizon as something that I was excited to go after. Anything you sign up for, any mission that you take on, you give everything you have. For me to get a gold medal is insane and I thank God for the opportunity to experience it.”
Shockingly, these past Olympics were Curry’s first. He was passed over in 2012 – just his third year in the league – and he withdrew from consideration in 2016 due to health concerns and 2020 due to the pandemic.
And with Curry set to be 40 when the 2028 cycle came around, this was perhaps his last chance to go for gold.
“I’ve been imagining what this will feel like forever, really,” Curry said in his first press conference in Paris.
With four NBA MVPs on the roster, the US National Team was very reminiscent of the Dream Team of old as the world’s greatest shooter teamed up with some of the other greatest talent of the era such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant to help America capture its fifth consecutive gold in men’s basketball.
“You compete against guys and [Durant and I] have history as teammates and have won at a high level,’ Curry said. “First is just the respect of what everyone has done in their careers. When you compete against people, play with them and see them in different aspects throughout your NBA journey, you learn a lot about people and that familiarity only helps us in this situation because you know everybody is going to approach it the right way, prepare themselves mentally and physically to hoop and come in with the right energy just trying to win.”
While Curry was a solid player early on in the tournament, it was the end where he really shined.
In the final two games against Serbia and France, Curry ended with 60 points, shooting 17-for-26 from beyond the arc.
The Americans almost didn’t even make it to the gold medal match as during the semifinals, they were staring down a 17-point deficit to Nikola Jokic and the Serbians.
But Curry wasn’t going to be denied. On top of nailing the go-ahead three that night, his 36-point performance was the second most ever by a US men’s player in Olympic history.
“That was one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of,” Durant said. “Steph Curry, he had the best night out of anybody in the whole tournament. It was so incredible to watch him knock down shots to keep us afloat. It was just a regular Steph game. It was God talking through him tonight.”
And as if that performance wasn’t enough, Curry stayed hot against France as he nailed shot after shot after shot.
Double team, off-the-dribble, nearly half-court. It didn’t matter, Curry was making everything.
“It’s right up there with all of the greatest games of his career,” Team USA and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr told NBC Sports following the gold medal win. “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.”
Curry finished the game with 24-points, all coming off of 3-pointers and half of those came in the final 2:43 of the tense contest.
Not only did Curry score the game-sealing basket, but with just 35 seconds to go, Curry hit his final 3 and clasped his hands together on the side of his face, telling all of France that it was time to go “night, night.”
It was a fitting close for the greatest shooter of all time, one who has revolutionized the game as we know it, to deliver a signature “Chef Curry” performance and finally add that final piece of hardware to an already illustrious career.
“That was an unbelievable moment,” Curry said. “I’ve been blessed to play basketball at a high level for a very long time. This ranks very, very high in terms of the excitement and the sense of relief getting to the finish line.”
