In the aftermath of his first Olympic appearance, Stephen Curry is still feeling the rush of winning gold for his country. In a recent chat with USA Today Sports, the superstar point guard opened up the full experience.
"A seven-game series, that's a long build-up," said Curry. "This was just one game, 40 minutes, can you get it done… and then obviously the France game, gold medal game, in France. That last three minutes was storybook stuff and it still hasn't really sunk in. Winning the gold, we expected to do that, we knew it was going to be hard, but how it happened? I still watch some highlights of the last three minutes..”
Curry, 36, had avoided the Olympic games until this summer when he made an early commitment to join forces with LeBron James and Kevin Durant to re-establish USA as the dominant basketball hub. This year, more so than most others, the competition was strong.
Countries like Canada, Serbia, Germany, and Greece had enough high-level talent to pose a serious threat to win the gold, but it was France who was the biggest danger to Team USA. Led by Victor Wembanyama, Nic Batum, and Rudy Gobert, the French had an impressive roster that made it to the gold medal game.
Of course, thanks to Curry, Team USA was able to win the tournament and bring home another gold medal for the nation. After a relatively sluggish start in the exhibition stage, Curry really got it going toward the end and he was huge during the elimination games.
While it was LeBron James who ultimately won MVP of the tournament, Curry was the team's leading scorer with averages of 14.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game in just over 23 minutes. His best game was against France for the gold, when he put up 24 points and 5 assists on 8-14 shooting.
Besides dominant play on the court, Curry was able to deepen his relationship with his peers, including LeBron James. The pair were seen hanging out at various points throughout the summer and posed together for many pictures during the event.
At this stage of his career, Steph has acknowledged that this was probably his last time at the Olympic games but he certainly made it count. His shooting and playmaking made everything easier on the floor and gave the USA the scoring punch they needed to outlast the competition.
Unlike the long grind of the NBA playoffs, the Olympic games were one and done, meaning every game mattered and every possession was important. With the margin for error so slim, the pressure was always on and it required complete and total focus from the whole roster. In the end, they completed the mission and Steph remains undefeated in all games for the USA .
Going into next season, Curry (4x champion) is expected to be at the top of his game. Coming off an impressive Olympic performance where he outplayed some of the best in the world, he'll have to carry a heavy weight for the Warriors as they attempt to get back to the top of the Western hierarchy.
Clearly, Steph still has a lot of time left and he's going to keep doing whatever he can to ensure that his team can be competitive in the West and stay in the championship picture for years to come.
Related: LeBron James And Stephen Curry Will "Never Team Up" Again After Latest Olympic Run
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