To know me is to also know that Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have been a thorn in my side for the better part of a decade. Now, is it Curry who is the reason for my dismay? Not totally. But boy, those fast-break threes would just make me want to puke during his NBA Finals battles with LeBron James. Things changed this past Olympic season. The Paris Olympics was one of the most memorable displays of competition that we’ve ever seen. It didn’t stop with Team USA Basketball, but they sure did punctuate it.
In the semi-final and final rounds of the six-game tournament, Curry put on a shooting display never before seen during international play. In my opinion, there haven’t been enough moments in high-stakes games where we saw Curry rise to the occasion. I thought that he finally owned high-stakes moments during the 2022 NBA Finals. It was his fourth NBA title that he would eventually win, but the first finals MVP win for Curry. Dubbed the “Babyfaced Assassin,” Curry has always had outrageous range. The elders would call it “in the gym” range. But as a long-time fan of LeBron, I never believed Curry showcased an ability to carry a team of his when his hired guns were down. That proof is certainly in the pudding, but it’s the standard I had set.
For all of the critiques that LeBron gets, I felt like Curry was able to fly under the radar, without having the same pressure put on him. Paris changed all of that. We understood the assignment, Team USA needed gold. On a world stage, and against the fiercest international basketball competition Curry was clutch. The basketball that I saw him play during those final two games was some of the best basketball I have ever seen him play. The beauty of seeing him go iso on the perimeter was a thing to behold. The opposition even knew those shots were going in.
The career-defining moment for Curry was undoubtedly the three over a double team. For him to shoot that shot, and for us to believe it would go in, says it all. I finally learned what it was like to be on his side. It’s fun as hell to cheer for Steph Curry. I finally got the hype, viscerally. He’s a one-of-one, and it’s tough imagining someone being more prolific.
The Olympics allowed us to admire our domestic stars in a way that we don’t usually get to. Like, in an all-star game, Curry and LeBron can team up. But unfortunately, the fellas don’t take that game even one percent of seriously as they do the Olympics. So, we get to watch an amazing super team play games with stakes. What was produced from that passion, talent, and diligence, was the joy of basketball on full display.