PARIS — The American basketball muscle remains strong.
The world has made big strides over the last three decades and there are brilliant talents and developing teams that show great promise. But when Team USA sends its best no one yet has shown they can stop the Yanks.
It is now five straight Olympic golds for the USA after a hard fought 98-87 victory over the resilient and prideful host nation of France Saturday.
The indelible moment came from Stephen Curry, who made four uber clutch 3-pointers in a two-minute second stretch of the fourth quarter to turn away a French uprising. Curry assured his first gold with a ridiculous fall away bomb over two defenders after a behind the back dribble, silencing the home fans with his “put them to sleep” trademark move.
“Before every shot you take you think is going in,” Curry said. “All I saw was the rim. I didn’t see who was in front of me. I knew it was kind of a late clock situation, but that one impressed myself.”
After making nine 3-pointers in the semifinals and putting in 36 points, Curry made 8-of-12 triples in the final for 24 golden points.
“I’ve seen that from Steph a few times but it never gets old,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s a global game with a lot of great players, but we still feel we have the greatest players.”
It was quite a turn of events after Curry had been just 5-of-20 on 3-pointers and was averaging just seven points heading into the semifinals three days ago.
“You just stay confident, stay present and don’t get rattled by the moment,” Curry said. “There’s a lot of faith, living with shots that you think you should take.”
While Curry was the hero, it was LeBron James named Olympics MVP after scoring 14 points with six rebounds and 10 assists. It added to is four NBA MVPs, four Finals MVPs, three NBA All-Star Game MVPs and the only In-Season Tournament in history.
James averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists on 66% shooting in the Olympics.
“I’m just living in the moment super humble that I can still play this game and play it at a high level,” James said. “It came with us winning gold and that’s what’s more important for me. It’s pretty cool.”
James earned his third career gold and fourth Olympic medal overall, joining Durant as the only American male with four.
Kevin Durant, who became the first American male to win four golds, had 15 points and several big baskets.
Devin Booker, who has been an unsung hero throughout the summer, had 15 points as he locked in his second gold. Booker had a plus-18 plus/minus for the game and was plus-76 in the Olympics.
“Devin was incredible. He completely changed his role from the NBA to now,” Kerr said. “He was kind of our unsung MVP.”
Anthony Davis had one of the best games with eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, and also took him his second gold.
In the end, the American 3-point shooting might truly made the difference. They made 18-of-36 3s, a number France just couldn’t keep up with. The French made nine triples but took 30 of them.
Victor Wembanyama, who perhaps represents the greatest hope to unseat the Americans in the future, said that Saturday’s game in the French capital was the “chance of a lifetime” and that his mindset coming into these games was it was “first or failure” for Les Bleus.
His play backed up his words and his potential by delivering one of the best games of his young life. Wembanyama’s presence was felt everywhere, from the opening moments of the game when he drilled a long 3-pointer, his long arms and fearless temperament put a major stamp on the game.
Wembanyama played his best-ever game for the national team, scoring 26 points with seven rebounds. He wiped away tears as the Americans celebrated the win and later vowed to use the experience for the future.
“Nobody’s going to take (this experience) from me,” Wembanyama said. “I’m learning and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple years.”
It was the biggest game in the lives of each French player and they played admirably, pressing the U.S. throughout a tight second half. Using pressure defense disturbed Team USA and forced 17 turnovers, the biggest flaw in the game that kept the door open for the home team as they repeatedly chopped the lead down.
Guerschon Yabusele scored 20 points for France, which has won silver in the past two Olympics.
“It’s a disappointment because we expected we could do it,” France coach Vincent Collet said. “We have to recognize at the end they were better. They’re still the best.”
