Steph Curry stole the show. LeBron James grabbed his share of headlines by helping control the game. USA Basketball's all-time Olympics leading scorer, Kevin Durant, earned a fourth gold at the Summer Games. Given all of that, San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama — all of 20 years old and with just one NBA year under his belt — outscored them all in helping keep the out-manned France Basketball program within striking distance of Team USA up until the last minute.
Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant shine
Curry led Team USA with a fourth-quarter flurry for the ages and led the national squad with 24 points in Saturday's championship match vs. France.
In a display that stunned, but didn't totally surprise given his status as the game's best-ever shooter, Curry essentially ended any hope the now back-to-back Olympic runners-up had by nailing four straight fourth-quarter three-pointers, including an absolute dagger that came with two defenders on him, while James and Durant stood wide open along the arc. That it may have been the Golden State Warrior's finest moment says tons given his four NBA titles, two NBA MVPs, Finals MVP, and so on.
With 14 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds en route to his third Olympic gold medal and fourth medal overall, LeBron James adds to the argument that he's the best basketball player the game's ever witnessed. At 39 years old, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar was still as consequential on Saturday in Paris as he has been throughout a career that reigns above just about all of them, save for perhaps a couple. Add the 2024 FIBA Men's Olympics Most Valuable Player to all the accolades that have him, by just about any sane measure, in the top three of the list of the best in basketball history.
Kevin Durant scored 15 to bring his Olympic total to 518 points. No American has ever scored more in the history of the fabled games. In fact, though it didn't come in the same shooting display that Curry unleashed, Durant put the U.S. on his back in the gold medal game of 2020 games, also vs. France. At 35 years old, one of the best scorers in basketball has seen hit the huge shot that completed a comeback vs. Serbia in the semifinals before tying for second in points with Devin Booker in the gold medal game.
Victor Wembanyama does more than hold his own
With 26 points on 11 of 19 shooting, the 7-foot-4 generational talent outscored Curry, James, and Durant, not to mention 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid as well as Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, and Jayson Tatum, all who are among the very best at their respective positions.
While the French feature several NBA players, including four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, it was a roster that simply didn't match up in the title game, yet Wembanyama's brilliance kept them in it until Curry's heroics.
Off the remarkable hype that preceded an NBA Rookie of the Year campaign, these Olympics and the final proved the latest instance that Victor Wembanyama is on a path that just about everyone expects will lead to one of basketball's greatest careers.
Follow Us
Subscribe