Team USA has claimed gold in the men's basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics .
The Americans finished the job by beating hosts France 98-87 on Saturday. The favorites were always in control of the game but well and truly secured the win thanks to a late flurry from Steph Curry , who sunk three 3-pointers during the final two minutes.
Saturday will go down as one of the greatest moments of Curry's glittering career. An Olympic medal was one of the few things missing from the 36-year-old's trophy cabinet, having previously claimed four NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors .
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"That was an unbelievable moment," Curry told NBC after the game. "I've been blessed to play basketball at a high level for a very long time. I don't know. This ranks very, very high in terms of the excitement and the sense of relief getting to the finish line."
Curry wasn't the only superstar at Team USA's disposal. LeBron James, 39, secured his third Olympic gold medal, while Kevin Durant, 35, picked up his fourth.
Team USA dominated the group stage of the Olympics, beating Serbia, South Sudan, and Puerto Rico all by a comfortable margin. Steve Kerr's players then thumped Brazil 122-87 in the quarterfinals before facing their biggest test in last four against Serbia.
Although Team USA defeated Serbia 110-84 in the group stage, their semifinal was much closer. The Americans were forced to claw back a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 95-91 and set up a gold medal match with the French.
Team USA has now won a total of 17 gold medals at the Olympics, including five consecutive championships. The American roster has never failed to win a medal on that stage, achieving silver in 1972, bronze in 1988, and bronze again in 2004.
Like Curry, Anthony Edwards, Derrick White, Tyrese Haliburton, and Joel Embiid are Olympic champions for the first time. Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo, and Devin Brooker, meanwhile, have added to the gold medal they won in Tokyo three years ago.
Yet this Olympics will be remembered for the efforts of Curry, James, and Durant - widely regarded as the best players of their generation. In terms of the future, one player who is set to be a figure in the NBA for years to come is Victor Wembanyama.
The 20-year-old Frenchman produced a brilliant display for his country on Saturday, outscoring Curry by producing 26 points. Wembanyama was in tears after missing out on the gold medal, but he will get the opportunity to inflict a home defeat on the United States in four years' time when the Olympics take place in Los Angeles.
After all, it's only getting harder for the Americans to keep hold of their Olympic crown.
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