Stephen Curry waited his entire career to make his Olympic debut, but his performance at Paris 2024 was decidedly disappointing. In the United States’ first four games at the Olympics, Curry shot 35.7 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range, averaging just 7.3 points per game.
In the semifinals against Serbia, Curry quickly proved that when he was on his best, he could play as well as any player in the world, hitting his signature long-range shots and scoring 17 points in the first quarter, but the U.S. was still struggling.
Serbia led the U.S. by 11 at halftime. Going into the fourth quarter, Serbia led by 13. With basketball supremacy on the line, USA Basketball turned to Curry and LeBron James, who led the team to the gold medal game.
The United States defeated Serbia 95-91 to advance to the men’s basketball final against France, where Curry scored more points in the semifinal than he had in his previous four games combined, helping the United States avoid a deeply humiliating defeat.
Curry made 9 of 14 three-pointers and scored 36 points. With the U.S. team in a difficult position, Curry repeatedly took control and kept the gold medal dream alive.
“It was just a matter of time before he had a game like this,” LeBron James said on television after the game.
Curry didn’t do it alone: James and Kevin Durant played the entire fourth quarter with Curry, and all three veterans made big shots late.
James had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, the fourth triple-double in Olympic history and the first player to achieve two triple-doubles in an Olympic game. Durant added nine points, including a crucial two-pointer at the end of regulation, to help secure the win.
Serbia led the U.S. for most of the game. Curry started the scoring for the game, but it wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter that the U.S. took the lead again. With just two minutes left in the game, Curry hit a three-pointer off a screen by Joel Embiid to give the U.S. the lead back.
On the next attempt, James soared through the air and launched an acrobatic layup.
Curry and James embraced after the win.
So the U.S. had to field the best roster possible for this Olympics while the rest of the world was catching up. LeBron James had missed the previous two Olympics, Curry had never played in an Olympic Games, and the USA Basketball Association had managed to get commitments from its best players and send them to the gold medal game.
This photo would soon become iconic:
There are a lot of great young players in the world of basketball, but Curry and James remain two of the most talented players in the game, even in their late 30s, and without them, the U.S. team would have been a disaster at the Olympics.
