Leading up to the 2024 Olympics, expectations were through the roof for Team USA as they assembled a roster filled with stars like Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid and more.
However, simply stacking up USA’s best basketball players does not guarantee a gold medal due to the strides the rest of the world has taken. There are plenty of European players at the top of the food chain in the NBA, including Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic.
Compared to USA, these other nations have been together for countless years and have developed seamless chemistry. So, the Americans were at a bit of a disadvantage by only having a couple of weeks to make the pieces fit despite having the most talented roster by far.
After battling their way to the Gold Medal game, Aug. 10, 2024, would become a day immortalized in history due to how tightly contested this contest was.
Notably, France was the home country in the Olympics and was led by rising star Victor Wembanyama and Nicolas Batum, Guerschon Yabusele, Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert. Obviously, that frontcourt size was massive and Team USA had their work cut out for them trying to combat it.
After the first half, the United States held an eight-point advantage over the French and the feeling was that if Team USA kept their foot on the gas, they could close it out quickly. But, Wembanyama did not let that happen as he got paint touches and saw some of his 3-pointers drop.
Despite that, France still trailed 72-66 heading into the final frame. In a back-and-forth game, when it comes to winning time, stars are looked at to handle business.
Curry was the one who stepped up in the fourth quarter as he nailed a total of eight 3-pointers, four of those during clutch time, including a dagger with 34 seconds left as he drilled a ridiculous double-teamed, long-distance bomb over Fournier and Batum.
Players like James, Durant and Devin Booker were crucial to getting Curry these looks with their dribble penetration, which collapsed the defense. The No. 1 rule is to never leave the greatest shooter open ever, but even a double team wasn’t enough to guard him.
The 3-point line helped secure the gold medal for the U.S. as they 18-for-36 and had four of the five starters in double figures while France only had two score over 10 points. Curry finished with 24 points while both Durant and Booker chipped in 15 and James totaled 14.
Wembanyama did Wembanyama things with 26 points and seven rebounds, along with Yabusele putting up 20 points.
With aging stars presumably playing their final Olympics, James, Curry and Durant were vital pieces to the puzzle. That trio was motivated to bring gold back to the States and safe to say they were successful in that mission, finishing 6-0 in the tournament. James was named MVP for his efforts despite being on the verge of turning 40 at the time.
LeBron James helped lead USA to epic comeback vs. Serbia in semifinals
Before the gold medal game, it looked like Team USA was dead in the water as they were down 17 points to Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the semifinals. They entered the fourth quarter down 13, but thanks to LeBron James and Stephen Curry, they were able to lead a dramatic comeback to keep their medal hopes alive.
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