USA basketball top Olympics again

It is all smiles for the Americans as USA men’s basketball is still golden, for now. Stephen Curry put the team on his back for a second consecutive game, securing a 98-87 win over the host country, France.

FIBA named LeBron James the tournament MVP after averaging 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists. James was fantastic during the gold medal run and was the best all-around, most consistent player for Team USA, but no one was really more valuable than Curry.

Teammates LeBron James and Jrue Holiday celebrate Team USA's win against France in the gold medal game at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Teammates LeBron James and Jrue Holiday celebrate Team USA’s win against France in the gold medal game at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo credit: USA Basketball

Without the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made, the team would not have beaten Serbia and possibly could have lost to France as well. Curry scored 60 points over the team’s final two games while shooting 63 percent from three. He slumped through the beginning stages of Paris but dropped the hammer when medals were on the line.

“I have been blessed to play basketball at a high level for a long time. This ranks very high in terms of the excitement and the sense of relief getting to the finish line,” said Curry.

Ever since professional basketball players first competed in the Olympics in 1992, the United States has won eight gold medals, with its lone blemish coming in 2004, when it had to settle for bronze.

In 2004, the team was far from the best product they could have put on the court. The only player who made the All-NBA First, Second, or Third team the previous season was Tim Duncan. Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O’Neal, Jason Kidd, and Ben Wallace all finished in the top eight of MVP voting and did not participate.

Team USA forward Anthony Edwards goes to the basket  during a men's basketball game at 2024 Paris Olympics.
Team USA forward Anthony Edwards goes to the basket during a men’s basketball game at 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo credit: USA Basketball

It is safe to say they would have won if several of these guys had made the trip to Athens. The point is that no one has really challenged for the throne. The United States has undoubtedly been the best basketball nation in the world for a long time, but the gap is closing.

Team USA’s three most important players, James (39), Curry (36), and Kevin Durant (35), in all likelihood, will not be a part of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The top four players in the NBA last year all played for different countries, and an American-born player has not won the NBA league MVP since James Harden in 2018.

The rest of the world is catching up fast, and they will only continue to improve. This Summer, Serbia showed that all it takes is one superstar player and a hot shooting night from three to make the powerhouse United States look vulnerable.

“What we have shown, winning five straight golds, is that we still have the most great players. Other countries have a lot of great players, but we have the most,” said Steve Kerr.

Sure, the United States will always produce new waves of great basketball talent, and the younger players on this year’s team will keep growing, but so will France, Canada, Spain, and many more. The depth of the other teams’ rosters will get deeper and deeper every Olympic Games.

“The difference between ’92 and the Dream Team and now is that it is hard to win. They didn’t have much difficulty back then, but the world has gotten so good at basketball,” said Kerr.

Team USA is not going anywhere anytime soon and should come into every future Olympics as the favorite to win gold, but that is not to say they will at the same rate.

“I think we might be the only team in the world whose fans are ashamed of them if they get a silver medal, and that is the pressure that we face,” said Kerr.

Photo caption for the lead photo of Steph Curry. Team USA basketball star Steph Curry celebrate making a three-point shot against France in the gold medal game at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Credit: USA Basketball


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