Stephen Curry came into this summer having done almost everything a superstar can do in the game of basketball. He took a formerly dismal franchise and turned them into one of the league’s gold standards, leading the Golden State Warriors to four championships. He has a pair of MVP awards, including the first ever unanimous selection in league history. He revolutionized the way the game is played, launching threes at a historic rate and changing the perception of what people see as a good shot. He has plastered his name all over the top of the NBA’s record books as a shooter and has an unassailable legacy as one of the greatest players to ever grace a basketball court.
And yet, there was one thing missing from his career resume that he was determined to add this summer: an Olympic gold medal. Curry, who has played on World Cup teams, had never been on an Olympic roster before this year. He made his intentions clear prior to this past season, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and a number of top stars who threw their names in the ring after Team USA failed to medal at the World Cup last summer. There was immense pressure on this squad to win gold, as the rest of the world has begun closing the gap on the American’s basketball supremacy, but the faces of this basketball generation wanted to make one last statement in Paris.
Early on, it was James and Durant that shined brightest. LeBron was the team’s most dominant force, leading the way both with scoring and facilitating, taking over games when needed and providing something of a reminder that, even on a team full of stars, he’s still The Guy. Durant rewrote the USA Basketball record books, passing Lisa Leslie for the most points by an American in Olympic competition. Curry, meanwhile, struggled to find his footing out of the gates.
Through the first four games of the Olympics, Curry averaged just 7.3 points per game on 20 percent shooting from three-point range. He just couldn’t find his rhythm, and the greatest shooter to ever play seemed frustrated by his inability to get it going. And then, the floodgates opened. Curry exploded for 60 points in Team USA’s final two games, hitting 17 of his 26 attempts from three (65 percent) and leading Team USA to hard fought wins over Serbia and France. Those two performances erased all memory of the early struggles, as he showed up at the exact moment the team needed him and became an Olympic hero in the process.
Against Serbia, Team USA needed every bit of his 36-point barrage in a 16-point comeback to topple the eventual bronze medalists. He kept the team from getting run out of the gym early, scoring 17 in the first quarter, and then joined forces with LeBron and KD down the stretch to simply overpower Serbia with their combined scoring might. Against France, Team USA didn’t need a grand comeback to win, but France refused to go away and Curry buried shot after shot down the stretch, culminating in a preposterous dagger over Nic Batum and Evan Fournier that might go down as the greatest shot of his career — which, seeing as how this is Steph Curry we are talking about here, is an insanely high bar to clear.
This year’s Olympics team was one last stand by the old guard before passing the baton, and it was important for each of the veteran stars to prove something different. For LeBron, it was one last chance to defend his crown. For Durant, it was a chance to cement his place as the greatest men’s Olympian in USA Basketball history. For Curry, it was checking one last box off the career bucket list, but it wasn’t simply about filling that last empty spot in the trophy case.
Stars that play on Team USA at the Olympics almost always call it one of the greatest experiences of their career. It is something wholly unique, from the style of play to getting a chance to join forces with the best in the world and figure out how to make that work in a 6-game sprint. Curry had never gotten a chance to be a part of that, but with his place in basketball history, it wouldn’t have felt quite right if he hadn’t been able to leave a truly indelible mark on the international stage. He did just that over the last two games, and I think when most fans think back on the 2024 Olympic team, he will be the first name that pops to mind because of his performances in the semis and gold medal games.
I’m loath to say Stephen Curry needed anything for his legacy. He was already cemented as an all-time great, a future Hall of Fame inductee who inspired an entire generation of basketball players in a way that few others have. However, I think Steph needed this experience for himself. When you’ve won everything else there is to win, there aren’t many opportunities for a “first” at 35 years old, but this Olympics offered just that. He seized that opportunity in a way only Steph can, and can now add USA Olympic hero to his lengthy resume.