Stephen Curry was thinking about this two years ago, after winning his fourth NBA title with the Golden State Warriors. The only thing left for him to win was an Olympic gold medal.
And in the crucial moment, he made sure that medal would be his.
The U.S. is once again the top team in international men’s basketball, after Curry scored 24 points — all on 3-pointers — leading them to a 98-87 victory over France in the final at the Paris Games on Saturday night.
This win marked the fifth consecutive gold medal for the U.S. and the 17th in their 20 Olympic appearances.
“You just stay confident, stay present and don’t get rattled by the moment,” said Curry, who had 17 3-pointers in his last two games, starting with nine against Serbia to reach the gold-medal game.
U.S. coach Steve Kerr added: “Steph earned this.”
Curry made four 3-pointers in the last 2:43 of the game, including one that clinched the win with 1:19 remaining. This shot put the U.S. up 93-84, and he skipped down the court, shouting and shaking his jersey to show off the “USA” on the front.
As if that wasn’t enough, he made another 3-pointer with about 30 seconds left, followed by his signature move where he puts his hands together on the side of his face.
“Night night,” he calls it, and he came prepared with a special shirt for the post-game celebration that read “Nuit nuit,” the French translation of his phrase.
Good night. Game over. Gold won. Again. “For me to get a gold medal is insane, and I thank God for the opportunity to experience it,” Curry said.
Kevin Durant — the first player to win four men’s gold medals in Olympic basketball history — scored 15 points for the U.S., as did Devin Booker. LeBron James, wearing shiny gold shoes, scored 14 points as he won his fourth Olympic medal and third gold.
“Super humbled that I can still play this game,” James said. “Played at a high level, played with 11 other great players and a great coaching staff and went on and did it for our country. It was a great moment around.”
For the second straight Olympics, the French watched as the Americans celebrated with U.S. flags after the title game. The French lost to the U.S. 87-82 in Tokyo three years ago, and this game was close until the final minutes.
That is, until Curry took control.
“I think we might be the only team in the world whose fans are ashamed of them if they get a silver medal,” said Kerr, the Golden State coach whose two-summer run with the U.S. ends with a 21-3 record and Olympic gold — 11-0 this summer.
“That’s the pressure that we face. But our players, and you saw Steph, they love the pressure. They appreciate this atmosphere and they were fantastic.”
Victor Wembanyama, the NBA Rookie of the Year for San Antonio in his first Olympic final, was outstanding for France, scoring 26 points — the second-most ever against the U.S. in a gold-medal game, just one behind the 27 scored by Drazen Dalipagic for Yugoslavia in 1976.
“I’m learning,” Wembanyama said. “And I’m worried for the opponents in a couple of years.”
Wembanyama covered his face with a towel afterward as the Americans celebrated. Guerschon Yabusele scored 20 for the hosts.
“For sure, it’s a disappointment because we expected we could do it,” France coach Vincent Collet said. “But we have to recognize in the end that they are better. We are very close … When they make fantastic shots, that’s the difference.”
The U.S. had a 14-point lead early in the third quarter, looking ready to pull away. But the offense soon cooled, and when Evan Fournier made a 3-pointer with 3:05 left in the quarter, the lead was down to 65-59 after a 12-4 run by the hosts.
And with a chance to go up by double digits heading into the fourth quarter, a major mistake by the U.S. gave France a boost.
Anthony Edwards and Durant had a mix-up on a pass, leading to a turnover. Nando De Colo scored just before the buzzer, and the U.S. lead was only 72-66 going into the final 10 minutes.
The gap got as close as three points but no closer, thanks to Curry. He made four 3-pointers in just 2 minutes and 12 seconds, including a spectacular shot that became memorable.
“A big shot to put us up six. That kind of settled everything,” Curry said. “And then the rhythm, the avalanche came, and thankfully the other three went in. That was an unbelievable moment.
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.”
It was the eighth time in Olympic history — and Sunday’s women’s final between the U.S. and France will be the ninth — that the host country reached the basketball gold medal game.
Home teams are now 5-3 in these games, with a 2-1 record for the men’s side. The U.S. men and women won in 1984 and 1996; the Soviet Union women won in 1980, while Australia’s women lost to the U.S. in 2000 and Japan’s women also lost to the U.S. at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
For James, it was another addition to his extensive legacy. For Durant, it was a historic achievement with four gold medals. For Booker, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, and Bam Adebayo, it was their second gold.
For Jrue Holiday, it was his second gold, tying his wife — soccer star Lauren Cheney Holiday — for family bragging rights. For Derrick White, Tyrese Haliburton, Joel Embiid, and Edwards, it was their first Olympic title.
“This has been an amazing experience, a beautiful experience,” Durant said.
And for Curry, it was a long-awaited achievement after missing previous Olympics. The Americans were thrilled to have him for this one. “I was smilin’, cheesin’, having the best time of my life,” Curry said.
He compared it to a Game 7 on the road, which it essentially was. He has had huge success in similar situations: a 50-point game that helped Golden State beat Sacramento in 2023, and a 27-point, 10-assist, nine-rebound game to win a crucial match in Houston in 2018.
And now, this.
“It’s right up there with all of the greatest games of his career,” Kerr said. “The shot-making was just incredible. But under the circumstances, on the road, in Paris, against France for a gold medal, this is storybook stuff. But that’s what Steph does. He likes to be in storybooks.”
