No Gold Medal Game without Stephen Curry?

Although Trae Young isn't on Team USA, he holds no bad blood. The Atlanta Hawks point guard appeared on the recent episode of the Podcast P Show . Team USA beat Serbia 95-91, clinching the opportunity to play for gold. During the episode, Young revealed who he figured was the reason for Team USA's victory.

“If Steph [Curry] didn’t have 17 in the 1st quarter, they would have been down 20 plus," Young claimed.

Curry finished with 36 points against Serbia, one point shy of tying Carmelo Anthony's 37 points scored against Nigeria in 2012. Team USA fell behind quickly, but as Young said, Curry kept the 14.5-point favorites in the game. Team USA scored 23 points, and Serbia scored 31 in the first quarter.

Young's take is accurate, as without Curry's explosion, it's unlikely Team USA would have successfully come back from such a deficit.

The Golden State Warriors superstar shot an astounding 9-14 from behind the three-point lead. Although LeBron James recorded a triple-double, Curry's constant pressure on Serbia's defense opened looks for other Team USA players. During Team USA's 24-8 run, Curry scored seven points in the fourth quarter.

Ultimately, Curry, James, and Joel Embiid deserve credit for the focal factors in Team USA's miraculous victory. However, Team USA would likely have played Germany for bronze without Curry's classic scoring performance.

Related: Charles Barkley Admonishes Steve Kerr

Team USA faces France for the gold medal on Saturday at 12:30 Pacific Time.