At the 2024 Olympics, Stephen Curry lit up the gold medal game between Team USA and France by making four three-pointers in the last three minutes. For one of them, it appears he even called the play himself, as Team USA head coach Steve Kerr disclosed that his star guard asked to play pick-and-roll with LeBron James.
“USA Basketball’s Steve Kerr said Stephen Curry requested during a timeout to run the pick-and-roll with LeBron James that set up one of his dagger threes to beat France: ‘I said, okay, let’s do that.'”
Despite the intense pressure, Curry wanted to run a cleared-side pick-and-roll with James, and Kerr was not going to refuse that request. Every coach would have trusted these two of the greatest and most intelligent players in NBA history to make things work, and they did.
With just over three minutes left, the French had narrowed Team USA’s lead to 82-79, but Curry’s burst put them away for good. For much of that match, France fought valiantly, but Curry’s wizardry broke their back right at the very end.
LeBron finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, while Steph finished with 24 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, and 2 steals. The pair helped Team USA win 98-87 and secure their seventh consecutive gold medal. In his very first outing, Curry won his first gold medal, while LeBron won his third.
Stephen Curry Talked About Managing LeBron’s “Too Small” Action For the first time this Olympics, James Curry and LeBron paired up in a competitive scenario, and the outcomes were disastrous. They proven to be a terrific team, and Curry mentioned how dangerous he and James are to the opponent before their quarterfinal matchup with Brazil.
“I’m a skilled screener who can throw guys like LeBron off when they’re in possession of the ball. We play a little bit of that in Golden State, where I set the screen and someone else has the ball. There are a lot of different plays you can make when LeBron is moving down the court, so good luck to anyone trying to stop him and make me shoot into space.”
“Just try to make teams make decisions and the more decisions you can make a defense make the better chance you have to create confusion.”
A “too small” defender switches on to LeBron with this play, and they frequently have little chance of stopping him. James either gets an easy basket as a result of it or a double team is forced, which leaves someone else open for a three.
Unfortunately, we probably won’t get to see Curry and LeBron together in a real competitive game again after this final. I find it extremely improbable that they will ever play together in the NBA, especially in light of the Golden State Warriors’ unsuccessful attempt to get James via trade this past season. LeBron apparently declined the opportunity, which was likely the final one. It’s possible that after playing with Curry, he has some regrets.
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