By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
PARIS, France – LeBron James was named MVP of the Olympic tournament, and Kevin Durant became the first Olympian with four gold medals in a team sport, but in the final, it was Steph Curry who stole the show.
Curry scored in total eight threes, four of them in the closing minutes, one bigger than the other.
As he admitted after the game: “We always say you do what the game calls for and what you kind of feel in the flow. Like the first four games, decent looks weren’t falling, but they’re in the rhythm of the offense for the most part. The coach reminded me at a certain point early, that the game will come to you if you allow it. And even if I was missing shots, just stay engaged. And that kind of fed into being locked in for these last two games”.
Curry was simply ready and he delivered: “When the game called for me to get shots up and knock them down, serve your game, just kind of keep us afloat until we could get over the hump. And then tonight to close it down. But you just stay confident, stay present, and don’t get rattled by the moment”.
This kind of confidence at this point of his illustrious career is second nature for Curry, even if he admitted that his last shot surprised even him: “I got to say before every shot you take, you think is going in. There’s faith, whatever happens. But that was at the end of a solid flurry of shots. And at the end of the day, all I saw was a rim, no who was in front of me. I knew it was kind of a late-clock situation. But that impressed me. I impressed myself”.
“Everything I imagined and more”
Winning the first gold was an experience to be remembered and cherished by Curry: “It’s everything I imagined and more, just the excitement of doing it with the guys in our locker room. We all signed up for this mission to continue USA basketball dominance. Obviously, I understand that it’s gonna be a tough task in the future with some great teams that we’re gonna have to face and there’s a sense of relief at the end. And I’ve seen the medal ceremonies at other events. I’ve seen KD get all three of his. I’ve seen, I’ve watched it, and envisioned what that would feel like”.
Curry and Team USA will always have Paris: “This is all you could ask for, great teammates, great coaching staff. First class, the way that the Paris Olympics have shown up and the energy around the city and every building we played in and tonight was no different. So obviously France on their home court, credit to them, they’re a great team, brought it out of us. But I am very thankful to have this gold medal around my neck. I got one, three more left to catch KD. It’s a special, special group and I’m glad we got it done”.
Last but not least, Curry admitted that since last September, he was onboard with the team, after the USA lost the FIBA World Cup but his desire was already there:” Back in 2022, we were on the way back from Boston. I made a joke about this, the only thing I hadn’t done, winning an Olympic gold, pretty much softly committed there. But last September, watching the World Cup, I took my decision. I understand this is something I hadn’t done, felt healthy and able to do it. It was something I would want to do”.
And he also joked about the Warriors missing the playoffs this season: “And I also had two more months to prepare for it”.
Still, the national team is a different animal compared to winning an NBA championship: “It’s not the same, the NBA it’s a whole season. Here there’s a sense of urgency which making it different”.
And maybe sweeter…
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA