With Olympic Gold on the Line, Steph Curry, LeBron James Deliver for U.S.

The Washington Post · Ben Golliver

15:48 JST, August 11, 2024

PARIS – Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, cloaked in American flags, shared hugs with LeBron James as the final buzzer sounded and their tumultuous road to Olympic gold was finally complete.

The United States defeated France, 98-87, at Bercy Arena on Saturday, besting the host country in Paris to win its fifth straight gold medal at the Summer Games.

While the Americans never trailed after taking a 29-27 lead midway through the second quarter, the final was a spirited affair that saw the French get within three points in the final three minutes. But Curry hit four late three-pointers to seal the victory, celebrating by shaking his USA jersey toward the crowd and putting his hands together next to his head in his signature “night, night” motion. Curry finished with a team-high 24 points on eight three-pointers.

“It’s everything I imagined and more,” Curry said. “For a first experience, this is all you could ask for. You just stay confident, stay present and don’t get rattled by the moment. The last two minutes were special.”

James, who was named tournament MVP, had 14 points, six rebounds and 10 assists. Curry and Durant said the Los Angeles Lakers forward first reached out to them via text message nearly a year ago to begin conversations about teaming up in Paris.

“We got our moment,” said James, a three-time gold medalist. “This is what we wanted. We didn’t like the way we played last summer [finishing fourth at the FIBA World Cup], so we put together this team very fast.”

The United States captured its 17th gold medal in 20 Olympic appearances. The Americans, who now boast a 149-6 record in the Olympics, remained undefeated in the knockout round since 2004. And the U.S. team, which went undefeated in Paris and won its six games by an average of 19 points, improved to 4-0 against France in gold medal games.

Durant set a men’s basketball record by earning his fourth gold medal; he had 15 points against France. The Phoenix Suns forward became the United States’ leading men’s or women’s Olympic scorer during the knockout round, prompting questions about whether he would add to his career tally by returning for a fifth appearance in 2028 in Los Angeles when he would be 39, the same age James is now.

“My goal every time I put this jersey on is to represent my country, my state, my street and my family name and to push the game forward,” Durant said. “We built off what the Dream Team did in 1992 and carried that torch. As far as 2028, who knows?”

The basketball world – and a glitzy courtside row that included Carmelo Anthony, Scottie Pippen, Draymond Green, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Thierry Henry – was treated to a riveting and well-played final. Victor Wembanyama, France’s 20-year-old sensation, immediately made it clear he was ready for the big stage, converting a three-pointer to open his team’s scoring and following it up with a brilliant spinning dunk.

The United States and France met in the gold medal game three years ago in Tokyo, and the heated rematch had the feeling of a budding rivalry. After entering the game as 161/2-point favorites, the Americans led 49-41 at halftime despite cold shooting from beyond the arc. The United States finally opened a double-digit lead shortly before halftime, but Guerschon Yabusele, France’s bruising forward, pounded away inside to counter the Americans’ momentum. Yabusele delivered his team’s highlight of the night with a dunk over James that drew “M-V-P!” chants from the French partisans.

Of course, the Americans countered with razzle-dazzle of their own. James, dressed in golden sneakers, tossed a pretty behind-the-back pass to a cutting Devin Booker for a layup, and Durant lobbed an alley-oop to Anthony Edwards. James, tasting victory, beelined to the rim for a thunderous slam midway through the fourth quarter, punishing France’s trapping defense. Curry finished the job with his backbreaking, spectacular three-pointers.

France’s upset bid came up short because its guards and wings couldn’t support the productive duo of Wembanyama, who had a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds, and Yabusele, who added 20 points. Breakout star Isaïa Cordinier was held scoreless, and Evan Fournier didn’t get on the board until late in the third quarter. France Coach Vincent Collet also lamented his team’s 10-for-17 shooting from the free throw line and botched scoring opportunities in transition.

“I would have liked to see how [the United States] would have reacted if we could have gotten the lead again,” Collet said. “But maybe [Curry] would have made the shots the same way he made them tonight. I was expecting more, but you have to do the perfect game. We had a chance. We didn’t take it.”

This will not be remembered as a flawless run to gold for the United States. The challenges began even before Coach Steve Kerr gathered the team for a Las Vegas training camp in early July: Durant suffered a calf injury that sidelined him for weeks. When the four-day camp ended, the United States parted ways with forward Kawhi Leonard, who was rehabbing a knee injury.

While the United States defeated the talent-rich Canadians to open its 5-0 exhibition schedule, it hardly looked unbeatable as the rest of the tour – including stops in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and London – unfolded. The Americans appeared lackluster down the stretch against Australia, and they narrowly avoided a catastrophic exhibition loss against Olympic newcomer South Sudan. They also had to work hard for a narrow win over Germany in their final tuneup.

Once they arrived in France, they navigated the back-and-forth logistics of traveling to Lille, near the Belgium border, with relative ease, scoring three blowout wins in pool play. Despite the one-sided victories, questions swirled over Kerr’s lineup decisions: starting Joel Embiid over Anthony Davis, bringing Durant off the bench and jettisoning Jayson Tatum from his rotation. Embiid also faced regular booing from French fans chafed by his decision to play for the United States rather than France or Cameroon, where he also holds citizenship.

Kerr stressed the importance of sacrifice while swatting away questions about his rotations, and Embiid repeatedly responded to the jeers by uncorking a crotch chopping gesture. In the final, Kerr finally moved Durant into the starting lineup and brought Tatum back into the rotation. Curry said Kerr tried to keep the team focused during its month-long journey by displaying a picture of a gold medal on a projector during every team meeting.

“There’s a lot of noise around our team,” Curry said. “I don’t envy [Kerr’s] position to find minutes for everybody. Rotations are hard. At the end of the day, it’s about winning.”

The United States began the knockout round by routing Brazil. But Nikola Jokic and Serbia pushed the Americans to the brink in the semifinals, building a 17-point lead in the first half and carrying a 13-point edge into the fourth quarter. Curry, who led the way with 36 points and nine three-pointers, joined forces with James, Durant and Embiid to power an unforgettable comeback in a 95-91 victory that was the closest the United States has come to losing in the knockout round since 2004. (Serbia beat Germany, 93-83, to claim the bronze medal Saturday.)

In the final, the Americans had to contend with an opponent who enjoyed the ultimate home-court advantage. Parker, the French basketball legend, welcomed the Paris crowd to Bercy Arena. Rows of tricolor flags blanketed three sections of baseline seats, and hundreds of ­Wembanyama No. 32 jerseys were peppered throughout the crowd. L’Équipe, the French sports journal, hyped the final with the headline: “Once upon a time with the Americans.” Inside the arena, a banner read “Rendezvous with history.”

The host’s swelled hopes went unfulfilled. The French went down as they had in Tokyo, just like the Serbians (2016) and the Spanish (2008 and 2012) before them. After Wenbamyama and his teammates clapped their appreciation to the crowd, James, Durant and Curry – the 30-somethings who starred in their first and probably last Olympics together – posed with their medals between their teeth and stood side by side as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played and the American flag was raised to the rafters.

“There’s a sense of relief at the end, but it’s more a sense of accomplishment,” Curry said. “I was smiling, cheesing and having the best time of my life because this might not come around again.”