Stephen Curry’s first Olympics nets fifth straight gold for US men

PARIS — 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 Olympic gold.

And in the ultimate moment, he made sure that medal would be his.

The United States is atop the international men’s basketball world once again, after Curry scored 24 points — all on 3-pointers — and led the way to a 98-87 win over France on Saturday night at the Paris Olympics. It was the fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal for the U.S. and the 17th in 20 all-time appearances for the Americans at the Summer Games.

“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 in Paris, starting with nine in a comeback win against Serbia in Thursday’s semifinals.

Steve Kerr, the head coach for the NBA’s Warriors since 2014 and the U.S. men’s national team since 2021, was glad to see the 36-year-old guard walk away from his first Olympics with the highest possible finish.

“Steph earned this,” Kerr said.

Curry made four 3-pointers in the final 2:43, including the one that sealed the win with 1:19 remaining. It put the Americans up 93-84, and he skipped down the court letting out a yell, shaking his jersey so everyone could see the “USA” across the front.

If that wasn’t enough, one more followed with about 30 seconds left — which he celebrated with the “go to sleep” move where he puts his hands on the side of his face.

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 four-time gold medalist in Olympic men’s basketball history — and Devin Booker scored 15 points apiece for the Americans. LeBron James, wearing metallic gold shoes that needed no explanation, scored 14 as he won his fourth Olympic medal and third gold.

“Super humbled that I can still play this game,” said the 39-year-old James, already a four-time NBA champion and the league’s all-time leading scorer. “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.”

For the second consecutive Olympics, the French had to watch the Americans hold up U.S. flags in celebration after the title game. The French lost to the U.S. 87-82 in Tokyo three years ago, and this one was down to the final minutes.

At least until Curry took over.

“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, who went 21-3 over the past two summers leading the Americans, who were 11-0 this year, including exhibitions. “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 San Antonio Spurs big man who was the NBA rookie of the year this past season, was brilliant for France in his first Olympic final. He scored 26 points, the second most ever against the U.S. in a gold-medal game, one behind the 27 that Drazen Dalipagic scored 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 in a towel afterward as the Americans celebrated. Guerschon Yabusele added 20 points 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 at the end that they are better. We are very close … When they make fantastic shots, that’s the difference.”

Up 14 early in the third quarter, the U.S. seemed poised to pull away, but the offense quickly went cold — and when France’s Evan Fournier connected on 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.

With a chance to go up by double digits headed to the fourth quarter, a big U.S. blunder gave France another jolt of momentum. Anthony Edwards and Durant got their signals crossed on a pass that led to a turnover, Nando De Colo scored to beat the buzzer, and the U.S. lead was only 72-66 going into the final 10 minutes.

It got as close as three. No closer, thanks to Curry. He hit four 3-pointers in a span of 2:12, the last a bit of the circus variety, and they all immediately went into Olympic lore.

“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 that the home team got to play for basketball gold. Sunday’s women’s final between the U.S. and France will mark the ninth.

Home teams are now 5-3 in those games, including 2-1 on the men’s side. The U.S. men and women both won in 1984 and 1996, the women of the Soviet Union won in 1980, Australia’s women lost to the U.S. in 2000, and Japan’s women also lost to the U.S. in Tokyo in 2021.

For James, it was one more thing for the neverending list that is his legacy. For Durant, it was history with four golds. For Booker, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis and Jayson Tatum, it was a second gold. For Jrue Holiday, it was a second gold to match his wife — soccer great Lauren Cheney Holiday — for the family lead. For Edwards, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton and Derrick White, it was the first Olympic title.

“This has been an amazing experience, a beautiful experience,” Durant said.

And for Curry, it was a long time coming after he wasn’t available for previous Olympics. The Americans couldn’t have been more thrilled that he was there for this one.

“I was smiling, cheesing, having the best time of my life,” Curry said.

He likened it to an NBA postseason Game 7 on the road, which it basically was. He has been enormously successful in those moments: a 50-point outburst to lead Golden State past the Sacramento Kings in 2023, and a 27-point, 10-assist, nine-rebound performance to win a do-or-die game against the Houston Rockets 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.”