Even in the chaos of the closing moments of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA's Stephen Curry put France to bed. Although the French and Cleveland Cavaliers fans might think Curry is the devil, the Golden State Warriors superstar had an iconic moment after hitting four quick three-pointers.
With the Americans up six with under a minute remaining, Curry hit his eighth 3-pointer of the night and easily the most impressive in his 2024 Olympics run. After getting the ball back from Kevin Durant, Curry faced a French double-team as the shot clock dwindled.
But, as basketball fans have seen time and again, that didn't matter. Curry stepped back and drilled the fadeaway jumper over both defenders to put the game on ice.
“That's the heave when you're a little tired, too. So thankfully, it went in,” Curry admitted postgame to NBC's Mike Tirico.
And, of course, Curry made sure to let the hostile French crowd know it, giving them his patented “night-night” celebration. Those home fans probably won't be sleeping too well tonight, though.
But, when looking closer at Curry's iconic celebration, there's an extra layer to it. Upon further inspection, people noticed that Curry found teammate Draymond Green in the crowd while celebrating. Considering that Green is one of the NBA's more iconic on-court heels, Curry must've picked up on some trolling in their twelve seasons together.
Curry also gave Green and other American fans in attendance plenty to celebrate. Now entering year 13, Curry, Green and the Warriors will look to bounce back after missing the playoffs for only the third time.
Will Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and the Warriors say “night night” to the NBA this season?
The 2024-25 season marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one for Golden State. Klay Thompson, a vital member of the Warriors' dynasty, is now with the Dallas Mavericks. While it might've been hard to say goodbye to Thompson, Golden State has undergone a youth movement, with the central belief being one thing and one thing only: Win as many titles with however long they have left in Curry's NBA career.
While that goal will be challenging, given the competitiveness of the NBA's Western Conference, it's not impossible. Jonathan Kuminga flashed stardom in a larger role last year and should hit that level more consistently. Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis showed enough as rookies to earn invites to the USA Select team, and Podziemski was good enough to unseat Thompson from the starting five for a chunk of last season. Sprinkle in Moses Moody and Andrew Wiggins, along with the additions of De'Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson, and Golden State has the depth to contend next year.
Granted, all this won't amount to much if Curry isn't a surefire All-NBA player in his age-36 season. Like his iconic run in the 2024 Olympics, the Warriors will only go as far as Curry can take them. If he's unable to do so, then Golden State will be saying “night night” during their season.
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