Steve Kerr still remembers sitting in his new Oakland office a few months after being named the Warriors’ head coach in 2014, watching his backcourt of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson take home gold for Team USA at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.
Curry played a team-high 23 minutes for the USA, and he and Thompson combined to score 22 points in the gold medal game. Thompson again won gold for Team USA in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, but Curry hasn’t sported the red, white and blue for a decade.
That will change this summer when Curry suits up for Team USA, playing for Kerr in Paris at the 2024 Olympics.
“Who could have predicted that it would be another 10 years before he played for Team USA,” Kerr said Thursday morning over Zoom.
A 24-year-old Curry wasn’t selected for Team USA in 2012 and wasn’t healthy enough to go through the rigors the Olympics demand in 2016 after playing a combined 97 games between the regular season and playoffs. He simply opted out of playing the 2020 games which were pushed back a year to the summer of 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking his age into account, that left one last opportunity.
Curry has zeroed in on this summer for quite some time now. The Warriors superstar turned 36 years old in March and knows this likely will be his last chance at representing his country at the Olympics.
When Curry last played for Team USA in 2014, his legendary shot didn’t always fall through the hoop like usual. Even in the gold medal game, he scored only 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting – all being 3-pointers. He shot 40.8 percent overall, which was the second-worst on Team USA despite averaging the fifth-most minutes (20.6) per game. Curry also is a 42.6 percent 3-point shooter for his career in the NBA.
That same success, however, did follow him to Spain 10 years ago, shooting 43.8 percent behind a shorter 3-point line.
“I know how excited he is to play in his first Olympics,” Kerr said. “Let’s face it, he’s a great fit in any league in the world. The best shooter. He’s such an easy player for others to play with, so he fits perfectly into this kind of challenge where you’re trying to develop continuity quickly.
“He’s excited. It’s his first Olympics, a chance to play with so many great players. And I’m excited to continue to coach him after 10 years.”
Kerr having Curry by his side should be a major advantage for the coach’s last go at leading Team USA. This summer’s version of Team USA already is being compared to the Dream Team of 1992, with some saying the 2024 squad is even better.
There still are challenges and hurdles to clear.
Coaches will arrive in Las Vegas for Team USA training camp on July 3, and players will join them two days later. Training camp practices begin July 6 for four days, setting the stage for Team USA’s exhibition game against Team Canada on July 10. That quickly, a group of the 12 best American players in the country will gather to find the right formula for team chemistry.
Which is what makes Curry so valuable, aside from his generational talent. He isn’t going to be the loudest in the room. Players still always will listen to him and respect his presence above nearly anybody else. Anytime Curry decides to talk, the entire room listens.
“I know he will make my job easier because he’ll talk to the other guys about some of my tendencies and what I’m looking for, so it’s very helpful to have him on this roster,” Kerr said.
The connection Curry and Kerr have created for the last decade has led to four Warriors championship rings and six trips to the NBA Finals. Next up, a shot at Olympic gold with Kerr roaming the sidelines and Curry cashing 3s against the best basketball players the rest of the world has to offer.
