Steph Curry's Olympic heroics confirm Warriors must push all-in to win big

Steph Curry forced open the floodgates when Team USA needed him most, erupting for 36 points and a record nine three-pointers while leading the Americans to an instant-classic 95-91 win over Serbia in the Olympic semifinal.

The four-time NBA champion came out scorching hot on Thursday, scoring 14 of the United States' first 15 points while finally finding his rhythm from deep. But Curry's vintage shot-making binge wasn't enough to keep his team close early, as Serbia held a 17-point edge midway through the second quarter and entered halftime up double-digits.

Team USA's dogged efforts to get back in touch with the Serbians was obvious coming out of intermission. Still, the Americans trailed by 13 entering the fourth quarter, pushing coach Steve Kerr to close with the absolutely star-studded lineup of Curry, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Joel Embiid with his team's Olympic life on the line.

All three of the United States' living legends played a critical role in their exhilarating come-from-behind win. James, in particular, flipped the switch in crunch-time and pivotal moments throughout the game to impose his will on both ends, while Durant's smooth shot-making and diligent defense loomed just as large for the Americans late.

But it was Curry who gave Team USA its first lead since the opening minutes on a wing three with 2:27 left in the fourth quarter, then grabbed an errant pass for a transition layup before putting Serbia away for good at the free throw line. He'd scored seven of the United States' last 11 points once the final buzzer sounded, quickly embracing James in a moment of celebration and affection even the most die-hard fans of both superstars won't ever forget.

Team USA is just one more win away from bringing home a fifth straight Olympic gold. Taking down Victor Wembanyama and host nation France on Saturday in Paris won't be easy, especially amid coach Vincent Collet's controversial, hugely beneficial decision to effectively bench four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert for the knockout round.

No matter what goes down at Bercy Arena on Saturday afternoon, though, won't change what Curry proved during in the most memorable matchup of the 2024 Games: He's absolutely still good enough to win another title in Golden State, but just isn't the same one-on-one force who knifed the Boston Celtics' array of quality defenders for buckets over and over in the 2022 NBA Finals.

Where does that reality leave the Warriors from here?

Warriors need another star creator for Steph Curry to be late-career best

Go back and enjoy the highlight reel of Curry's flame-throwing against Serbia one more time. How many of his 12 scores came off isolation or even basic pick-and-roll action? Curry got just one of his buckets while playing primary operator, a crucial pull-up three off ball-screen action with Embiid midway through the third quarter. His only other basket that wasn't assisted came on that easy late-game steal and coast-to-coast finish.

There's nothing negative to glean from a sharpshooter raining jumper after jumper within the flow of the offense. Curry played exactly the offensive role Team USA needed from him on Thursday, sprinting off pin-downs and baseline screens to either get space to launch himself or goad rotations from Serbia that freed up his teammates for better looks. He wasn't nearly as effective trying to turn the corner and finish at the rim or attacking bigger defenders off the bounce after switches, hardly surprising after the 36-year-old took a step back in both regards in 2023-24.

The problem for Golden State? Successful as the front office's roster revamp was this offseason despite its failure to add a second star, the Warriors still don't have another dynamic creator to allow the greatest shooter ever to play away from the ball more frequently while he continues to rank among the league's top players.

Brandin Podziemski needs to show much more burst and wiggle with his handle before earning that label—if his relative physical deficiencies don't prevent him from getting it outright. De'Anthony Melton is a role-playing combo guard through and through, but at his most comfortable playing with a true floor general.  Dreams of Andrew Wiggins becoming that type of alpha dog faded long ago.

Jonathan Kuminga, even scraping his idealistic peak, almost surely won't be a good team's optimal down-to-down driver of offense. Draymond Green and Kyle Anderson possess natural court sense and think the game multiple steps ahead, but hardly inspire real threats to defenses orchestrating offense 25 feet from the basket—unless Curry or Buddy Hield is about to take a dribble hand-off from them beyond the arc, that is.

Golden State knows full well its current roster lacks that necessary playmaking punch next to Curry. It's safe to say no one internally is under any delusion the Warriors are ready to compete for another title as currently constructed. What's far more distressing is just how unlikely it is the kind of star becomes available who can help Curry unlock his late-career best, giving the Dubs at least a puncher's chance to raise the Larry O'Brien Trophy one more time before the greatest player in franchise history calls it quits.

As one of the game's most dangerous multi-level finishers, Lauri Markkanen doesn't fit that bill. Paul George boasts some supplemental playmaking ability, but is no true table-setter. Would acquiring any of Golden State's other rumored trade targets since early February have permitted Curry to play more off the ball going forward, compensating for his lagging quickness and explosion as his late 30s dawn?

Father Time waits for no one—even LeBron. He's lost a similar if not bigger dose of athleticism than Curry, but was coming from such an unprecedented high of physical prowess that he can still rely on his body as much as his mind and skill for success. The same can't be said for Curry, and just like James' aging has played a part in the Los Angeles Lakers' championship window closing over the last couple years, it's no different for he and Golden State.

Title-worthy teams need their stars to live up to that billing at the game's highest levels. Curry did just that for Team USA versus Serbia, shining brightest in a matchup that featured four MVPs while subsisting on looks he wasn't forced to create himself. If only there was a realistic way for the Warriors to replicate that perfect environment for Curry in the NBA before his iconic career comes to a close.