USA Men Winning a Fifth-Straight Gold Medal at the Paris Olympics
PARIS, France — The 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team made sure to continue a tradition that started in 1936. Winning the Olympic gold medal.
Behind a flurry of Stephen Curry 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, the U.S. staved off France 98-87 to win its fifth straight Olympic gold medal Saturday in front of a raucous crowd at Bercy Arena in Paris, the host of the 2024 Summer Games. It was the 17th gold medal in 20 Olympics the Americans have participated in. The five consecutive golds is the second-longest streak for the men to the U.S. winning the first seven Olympic competitions.
“We have the most incredible group of players,” U.S. Coach Steve Kerr told NBC. “They were all so unselfish throughout this whole thing, through all the noise, all the pressure. I think we might be the only team in the world whose fans are ashamed of them if they get a silver medal, you know? And that’s the pressure that we face. But our players, and you saw Steph, they love the pressure. They appreciate this atmosphere, and they were fantastic.”
Curry finished with 24 points on eight 3-pointers and had five assists. Kevin Durant, the all-time leading men’s or women’s scorer in U.S. Olympic basketball history, started his only game of this Olympiad and had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, while ageless LeBron James, the NBA’s career scoring leader and U.S. Olympic assists leader, added 14 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
Devin Booker had 15 points and six rebounds and Anthony Davis had eight points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots for the U.S., which went 6-0 at the Paris Olympics and have won 11 straight at the Summer Games. The U.S. is 144-5 in Olympic history.
Durant became the first four-time gold medalist men’s basketball player, breaking a tie with fellow American Carmelo Anthony (2004-2016), while James earned his third gold medal and matched Durant with four overall medals. James, who hadn’t played in the Olympics in 12 years, also won a bronze in 2004.
“I’m just living in the moment,” said James, who was named MVP of the Olympics. “Super-humbled that I can still play this game, play it at a high level, play with 11 other great players, with a great coaching staff and to go do it for our country was a great moment.”
This epic battle unfolded in a unique situation. Never before had the U.S. gone for a gold medal against a host nation. And the Americans did so in a Bercy Arena filled to the rafters and the crowd including French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Anthony was among the many celebrities and other Olympians who have been cheering on the U.S. throughout these Olympics.
“It was great,” said James, who broke out gold Nikes for the game. “We wouldn’t have wanted it any other way than to face off against the host team. It was a great atmosphere.”
Victory Wembanyama, the 20-year-old reigning NBA Rookie of the Year and 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick, led France with 26 points and seven rebounds, while Guerschon Yabusele, who has 74 games of NBA experience but none since the 2018-19 season, added 20 points. France has won four medals at the Olympics, all silvers in losses to the Americans (1948, 2000, 2021, 2024).
The gold just added to the legacy of a U.S. roster that included players with 15 NBA championships, four with NBA MVPs, seven of the last 13 NBA Finals MVPs and four members of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team (James, Curry, Durant and Davis).
This U.S. team has been compared to the 1992 Dream Team, the first to have NBA players in the Olympics and easily won the gold medal. While the Dream Team inspired other countries to improve their programs, the U.S. has ruled in the Olympics all but once since.
But this one took 60 points by Curry over the last two games. His fourth-quarter burst in the gold-medal game secured a win in a rematch from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 in which the U.S. won gold 87-82. France beat the Americans 83-76 in the Olympic opener that year.
Both teams came out hot to begin the game before settling into a less-frenetic pace. There were six lead changes as the U.S. kept the French crowd from becoming too much of a presence. Booker had seven points and Edwards a pair of 3-pointers in the opening 10 minutes to put the U.S. up 20-15. The Americans were 8-of-19 (42.1%), including 4-of-11 from distance, while holding France to 7-of-20 (35%) and 1-of-9.
But France opened the second quarter on a 10-4 run. The remainder of the quarter was more like a heavyweight championship fight, with both teams still seeking an edge to take advantage of. The U.S. did open up a couple of 10-point leads, but Yabusele was the counterpunch for France. Yabusele had a baseline drive and dunk over James that electrified the French crowd, which responded with “M-V-P!” chants. He completed the three-point play to pull France within 40-36 with 2:13 seconds left in the quarter. Yabusele capped a 15-point first half taking a feed from Wembanyama and converting a reverse layup to trim the U.S. lead to 49-41 at halftime. Wembanyama had 13 points in the first half, while Booker paced the Americans with 13.
In the third quarter, the Americans led by as much as 14 at 61-47 on Curry’s second 3-pointer of the half. But France slowly chipped away and set up a tense fourth quarter as 37-year-old Nando de Colo had a steal and buzzer-beating layup — thanks to goaltending by Durant — to pull France within 72-66.
Wembanyama pulled France within 82-79 with 3:04 to go, taking advantage of FIBA’s rim rules with a dunk on a putback. But Curry hit his fifth 3-pointer with 2:47 remaining and Durant added two free throws to make it 87-79 with 2:22 left. Then Curry put the dagger in the French, hitting a step back trey with 1:52 remaining for a 90-81 lead, another trey with 1:19 to go for a 93-84 cushion and then the final one with 34.5 seconds remaining to make it 96-87. All that was left to do at that point was celebrate.
“I was just trying to settle us down,” Curry said of his first 3 in the final quarter. “All we wanted to do was get a good shot. It had been a while since we had a good possession. The first one, we were up three and momentum was on their side and I just got to a spot. At that point, your mind goes blank, you don’t care about the setting or the scenario or anything. Thankfully that one went and settled us down. Then it was the rhythm and flow and that was it.”
Kerr has seen this many times before as he coaches Curry with the Golden State Warriors.
“It’s right up there with all of the greatest games of his career. The shot-making was just incredible. But under the circumstances, you know, on the road, in Paris, against France for a gold medal. This is storybook stuff, but that’s what Steph does — he likes to be in storybooks.”
Curry declared his intent to play for the U.S. in Paris on the plane ride home after winning his fourth NBA championship in 2022.
“A lot of relief,” Curry said. “It wasn’t easy but damn, I’m excited. Everything I wanted it to be and more.”
