Kevin Durant and Steve Kerr have seen Stephen Curry’s brilliance up close for years, but Thursday’s performance in the 2024 Paris Olympics was something extraordinary, even by Curry’s standards.
As longtime NBA teammates and coach, Durant and Kerr have been consistently amazed by Curry’s game-changing plays with the Golden State Warriors. However, seeing him step up for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics added a special layer to his legacy.
“It was special to be a part of,” Durant said in a postgame interview. “Steph Curry, we talked about each game, somebody had to step up. It might be your night. And he came and had the best night out of anybody the whole tournament. It was so incredible to watch him knock down shots to keep us afloat. LeBron [James] played incredible. Joel [Embiid] was insane tonight. It was incredible. I just love what everybody did.”
Durant emphasized how this game will likely go down as one of the most memorable in Olympic history.
Curry, playing in his first Olympics, had struggled to find his rhythm throughout the first four games of the tournament. But everyone, including LeBron James, knew that a signature Curry Flurry was just around the corner.
And when Team USA needed it most, Curry delivered.
In a nail-biting 95-91 comeback win against Serbia, Curry poured in 36 points, adding eight rebounds and finishing with a plus-20 in just 33 minutes of action. He hit 12 of his 19 shots, including five three-pointers in the first quarter alone, setting the tone early with his aggressive play.
Before this breakout game, Curry had only made five three-pointers across the entire tournament. Durant explained that everyone was trying to find their rhythm within the team, given the unique dynamics of Olympic play where roles can shift dramatically from what players are accustomed to in the NBA.
“We subbing five at a time, some guys are playing roles they haven’t played before. It could be any guy that had that moment. So he knocked down that first shot and got going in the first quarter. He had 17 of our first 20 points. Guys were looking for him. His energy was high. He was shooting the ball and turning around. It was just a regular Steph game. And I think he was searching for that type of game the whole Olympics. And to have it right here, especially when we needed it, it was special to see,” Kevin Durant said.
Team USA had been trailing by as many as 17 points against a formidable Serbian team led by Nikola Jokic. With the gold medal on the line and time running out, the Americans needed a spark. During a crucial timeout, the team focused on chipping away at the deficit, aiming to get within striking distance with seven minutes left.
“We just wanted to get it to single digits by seven minutes,” Durant explained. “That’s all we were talking about. Get it to five or seven with seven minutes to go. We got it to five and defensively we turned it up even more. We got stops when we needed to. We made them miss.”
The combination of Curry, Kevin Durant, and James on the court was a dream come true for basketball fans, and it was clear that the trio was savoring every moment of it.
“It’s a special group of guys,” Durant reflected. “Time is winding down, we got one more game. It’s kind of bittersweet because we are playing in the gold medal game with the opportunity to get another gold, but we’re not going to be together once we finish here. It was a joy to be in the locker room with these guys and on the bus just talking life with these guys and then hooping on the floor with them. It’s the best team I’ve ever been a part of and I want to finish it off with a gold.”
Steve Kerr, who has coached Curry through countless big games with the Warriors, wasn’t surprised by Curry’s heroics on Thursday. However, when asked to rank this performance among Curry’s many, Kerr found it impossible.
“It’s impossible to rank Steph’s performances because there have been so many of them,” Kerr said. “So many big games. But it’s different playing for USA basketball than it is playing for your NBA team. You’re literally playing for your country, so it didn’t surprise me at all that Steph had the game that he did. He always comes up big when he’s needed the most. But it was the competitive spirit of the whole group that really stood out to me.”
With the gold medal game still ahead, Team USA is poised to write the final chapter of this Olympic journey. And with players like Curry, Durant, and James leading the way, the ending promises to be just as spectacular as the journey.
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