Photo by Daniela Porcelli/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
USA Basketball was on the brink of defeat until Stephen Curry and LeBron James saved them.
Stephen Curry waited his entire career to make his Olympics debut, but the start of his run in the 2024 Paris Games was decidedly underwhelming. In the United States’ first four games in the Olympics, Curry averaged only 7.3 points per game on 35.7 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent shooting from three-point range.
As it took on Serbia in the semifinals, Curry didn’t waste any time showing he can still be as spectacular as any player in the world on the right night. He popped off for 17 points in the first quarter with his patented array of long range shots, but the U.S. was still on the ropes.
Serbia led the United States by 11 at halftime. Serbia led by 13 points entering the fourth quarter. With their basketball supremacy on the line, USA Basketball turned to Curry and LeBron James, and the duo helped deliver the team to the gold medal game.
The United States beat Serbia, 95-91, to advance to the finals of the men’s basketball tournament against France. Curry scored more points in the semifinals than he did in the previous four games combined, and it was the driving force in helping the U.S. avoid a hugely embarrassing loss.
Curry finished with 36 points on 9-of-14 shooting from three-point range. With Team USA having its backs against a wall, Curry repeatedly took over to keep his gold medal dreams alive.
“It was only a matter of time before he had one of these games,” said LeBron James on TV after the game.
Curry didn’t do it himself. James and Kevin Durant joined Curry in playing the entire fourth quarter, and all three veterans made huge shots down the stretch.
James finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. It’s the fourth triple-double in Olympic history, and James becomes the first player to ever post two Olympic triple-doubles. Durant added nine points, and had a clutch long two-point bucket to help secure the win at the end of regulation.
Serbia led the United States almost the entire game. Curry started the scoring in the game, but the U.S. didn’t lead again until late in the fourth quarter. USA wrestled the lead back when Curry hit this three-pointer running off a Joel Embiid screen with just over two minutes remaining.
On the next possession, James soared through the air for an acrobatic layup:
Curry and James embraced after the win:
This is why the United States had to put its best possible roster together for these Olympics with the rest of the world catching up. LeBron James skipped the previous two Olympics, and Curry had never played in the Olympics. USA Basketball did well to get commitments from its best players, and it has put them in the gold medal game.
This photo is immediately iconic:
There’s a lot of great young talent all over the world in basketball, but Curry and James remain two of the brightest talents in the game in their late 30s. Team USA would have been toast in these Olympics without them.
