It has been nearly a week since Team USA won the gold medal in the Paris Olympics. But gone are the days when a full-force Red, White, and Blue squad can steamroll over all of its opponents. It needed Stephen Curry 's heroics to defeat Serbia and France in the tournament's final two rounds.
Curry's offensive flurries came unexpectedly, as he had been struggling in the previous four games. Interestingly, he predicted that he would come out of his slump in style, according to Golden State Warriors teammate Brandin Podziemski .
"I was there (Paris) for a couple of games before that (the USA-Serbia game)," Podziemski said . "So, I got to talk with him. ... It was at the time when Steph was struggling and not making as much. We were just kind of talking about it and what his thoughts were.
"He told me and my friends — it's actually crazy — that he was gonna go off the next two games. That was against Serbia and France. He told us, and he did it," Brandin added.
Steph gonna Steph
The two-time NBA MVP's supernova performances couldn't have come at a better time for the U.S. His averages of 7.3 points and 1.3 3-pointers per contest and 25.0% shooting from beyond the arc in the group phase and quarterfinals didn't matter as much because Team USA found plenty of other sources for offense.
However, the gold medalists struggled to keep up with Nikola Jokic and the Serbians in the semifinals. Fortunately, Curry kept them afloat, finishing with 36 points and nine 3-pointers, both just one shy of Carmelo Anthony's Team USA single-game records.
Podziemski said he was in the arena to witness his Golden State backcourt buddy put on a show and watch his compatriots rally for a 95-91 victory.
After admitting the challenge the gold-medal game would bring, Steph continued his scoring outburst against France, putting up a team-high 24 points, five assists, and eight makes from downtown. He also hit one of the greatest 3-pointers of his hoops career late in the contest.
Related: "Frequently it was heated" — Steve Kerr claims Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen's conversations in practice usually had tension
Podz biding his time
Seeing his fellow Americans fight valiantly and bring glory to their nation probably had Podziemski raring to get the same chance to do the same sometime in the future. The 21-year-old already had the opportunity to spend time with Team USA after being one of the Select Team members who helped prepare the squad in their training camp.
Podz even believes he deserves consideration for the 2028 iteration of the U.S. squad, as he took note of a list on X (formerly Twitter) predicting Team USA's roster for the Los Angeles Olympics.
He will have plenty of chances to prove that he is one of the NBA's elite after the Warriors traded away Klay Thompson this offseason. That should pave the way for Podziemski to lock up the team's starting backcourt spot alongside Curry.
Related: Stephen A. Smith breaks down why Curry deserves the MVP over LeBron at the Olympics: "When you steal pivotal moments to secure a gold you deserve the MVP"
Most Popular
Comments / 0