If there is one moment that basketball fans will remember the Paris Olympics by, it will surely be Stephen Curry’s late game fadeaway three over two French defenders to seal the gold medal for Team USA. Unable to find his rhythm in the first four games of the tournament, Steph turned the heat up when it mattered the most and went on a run of his life in the final two knockout games. Impressed by his historic performance, media veteran Nick Wright claimed that Steph’s Olympics debut might have finally gotten him past his former teammate Kevin Durant’s shadow.
Discussing Steph’s first Olympic gold victory on First Things First, Nick said, “This is the final piece for him.” As Team USA led the game by only three points in the final three minutes and France had a chance to turn things around, Steph took over and hit four straight threes on 4-4 shooting to extend the lead and ensure a gold medal for his country. Because of the outburst, he finished with 24 points and miraculously, all his points came from deep range, proving why he is the best shooter in the world. “I think it will go down as the single most memorable sequence in Men’s Olympic basketball history,” Wright remarked.
Yes, Curry is a four-time NBA Champion and has been the league MVP twice. But his career has had some rough patches along the way. It was in 2015 when everyone thought he was well on his way to becoming the new face of the league after winning his first MVP and a title the same year. Moreover, he created history a year later by becoming the first-ever unanimous MVP after hitting 402 threes in a season and leading the Warriors to an unprecedented 72-9 record. But the celebration soon took a halt as they blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA finals to a LeBron James-led Cavaliers in one of the greatest comebacks ever witnessed.
Even though Steph did end up winning the title the following two years after the Warriors added Kevin Durant, Nick pointed out, “Kevin Durant was the best guy in those finals.” Despite the back-to-back victories, KD’s dominance put an asterisk on Steph’s legacy as many believed he could not have won without the Slim Reaper. But Steph’s takeover in Paris during the semi-final against Serbia and the final against France has settled the debate for Nick, “For him to have arguably his hottest stretch at the end of a game in his career with his only gold medal he’s ever gonna have a chance to get for on the line, to me it was the final piece of what has been an almost perfect basketball career.” While many people’s doubts about Curry were cleared after he led the Warriors to a title two years ago as their best player and earned his first Finals MVP, his Olympics victory only adds more weight to his legacy.
What does the Olympic gold mean to Stephen Curry?
“He was happy for the group’s success but frustrated with his own performance.” After Steph’s takeover in the final, head coach Steve Kerr revealed how the Warriors superstar had been feeling for the past few weeks after his disappointing showing in the first four games. Maybe, the Olympics pressure got to him, but Steph was shooting an abysmal 19.1% from three and averaging a little over seven points until the semi-final. But as people began doubting his abilities, he gave arguably the best performance of the tournament in the game against Serbia as he went off for 36 points, only one point shy of Carmelo Anthony’s Olympic record. Then, he carried that momentum to the final and gave an even more impactful performance against France with the late-game takeover.
via Reuters
Sure enough, Steph put his earlier performances aside and shot a whopping 62.9% from three in the final two games and averaged thirty points. “A big shot to put us up six. That kind of settled everything. And then the rhythm. The avalanche came, and thankfully the other three went in. That was an unbelievable moment.” He remarked. Looking back on his first Olympics experience and where it stands among all that he has achieved in his career, he said, “I’ve been blessed to play basketball at a high level for a very long time. This ranks very high in terms of excitement and the sense of relief, getting to the finish line.” Where do you think Steph’s gold medal victory puts him among the all-time greats?
