Curry has what was needed—a Steph-like game

Moments before he was to call the Olympic basketball semifinal,  Noah Eagle asked the viewers on NBC’s Peacock what basketball fans in general and Warriors fans in particular might be wondering. 

“When are we going to see a Steph Curry game?”

Of course, he meant one of those bravura performances when Steph is throwing in 3-pointers from everywhere, in this case using a pertinent reference, the Rhone to the Riviera. The Americans came back from 17 points down to defeat Serbia, 95-91, Thursday at Bercy Arena. 

Curry scored 36, and down the stretch he had plenty of help from two guys named Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Not a bad threesome. James recorded only the fourth triple-double in Olympic history with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Durant two huge baskets.

Now the issue is what happens: Is a repeat possible in the final Saturday against France, which although it may lack Serbia’s muscle and Nikola Jokic, will have the crowd—and the nation—on its side.

Can 50 million men be wrong? The United States can only hope so.  

Basketball was created by a Canadian, Dr James Naismith. Through the decades it’s been dominated by the U.S., which, since the sport became part of the Olympics in 1936 has taken gold 19 times of the 22 tournaments. There has been one silver (1972) when a referee cheated the U.S. in bizarre multiple-foul situations—and two bronzes.    

Yet it is all over the world. There are hoops in playgrounds, street corners, and farm fields all over the world. There are great players from Australia with Paddy Mills to Greece with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The days since the U.S. Dream Team in 1984 with Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Patrick Ewing have shifted. That year the opponents would ask for autographs from the Americans.  Now they are just as likely to block a shot back into your face.

This 2024 U.S. was judged just slightly by the Dream Team.  In fact, some said America’s number two team this time was the number two team in the Olympics. A bit overstated. In Jokic, the Serbs had an NBA Most Valuable Player, and the last top two NBA draft picks, including Victor Wembanyama—who the U.S. will face in the final game—are from France. 

Because of the pace of the games until the semis, Curry, arguably the best shooter in history, had been relatively quiet. Thus the opening statement from the announcer, Eagle, whether Steph would finally break loose. He did. Curry made his presence felt early on, scoring 18 in the first half when no one else on the U.S. seemed able to get a basket. In the end, he finished with 36, hitting 9 of 18 from behind the arc. Reminded you of the golden days at Golden State.

“To come back the way we did, I’ve seen a lot of Team USA basketball, and that was special.” 

So was Steph.

He had what Noah Eagle, the game announcer said was needed—a Curry game.