Curry catches fire as U.S. fends off France to win 5th straight Olympic men's basketball gold

Stephen Curry was thinking about this two years ago, after winning his fourth NBA title with the Golden State Warriors. The only thing left for him to win was Olympic gold.

And in the ultimate moment, he made sure that medal would be his.

The U.S. is atop the international men's basketball world once again, after Curry scored 24 points and led the way to a 98-87 win over France in the final at the Paris Games on Saturday night. It was the fifth consecutive gold medal for the U.S. — and the 17th in 20 all-time appearances for the Americans at the games.

Curry made four 3-pointers in the final two minutes and 43 seconds, including the one that just sealed the win with 1:19 remaining. It put the U.S. up 93-84 and he skipped down the court letting out a yell, shaking his jersey so everyone could see the "USA" across the front.

If that wasn't enough, one more followed with about 30 seconds left — with the "go to sleep" move where he puts his hands on the side of his face.

Good night. Game over. Gold won. Again.

"For me to get a gold medal is insane, and I thank God for the opportunity to experience it," Curry said.

Kevin Durant — the first four-time men's gold medalist in Olympic basketball history — scored 15 for the Americans, as did Devin Booker. And LeBron James, wearing metallic gold shoes that needed no explanation, scored 14 for the U.S. as he won his fourth Olympic medal and third gold.

For the second consecutive Olympics, the French had to watch the Americans hold out U.S. flags in celebration after the title game. The French lost to the U.S. 87-82 in Tokyo three years ago, and this one was down to the final minutes.

That is, until Curry took over.

"I think we might be the only team in the world whose fans are ashamed of them if they get a silver medal," said U.S. coach Steve Kerr, the Golden State coach whose run with the U.S. ends now with a 21-3 record and Olympic gold — 11-0 this summer. "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."

WATCH | Stephen Curry leads U.S. to Paris 2024 gold:

Look back at the U.S. men's basketball gold medal win

4 months ago

Duration 1:20

U.S. men's basketball secured the Olympic gold medal as they defeated the home nation of France at Paris 2024.

Victor Wembanyama, in his first Olympic final, was brilliant for France, scoring 26 points — the second-most ever against the U.S. in a gold-medal game, one point behind the 27 that Drazen Dalipagic scored for Yugoslavia in 1976.

Wembanyama covered his face in a towel afterward as the Americans celebrated. Guerschon Yabusele scored 20 for the hosts.

"For sure, it's a disappointment because we expected we could do it," France coach Vincent Collet said. "But we have to recognize at the end that they are better. We are very close ... When they make fantastic shots, that's the difference."

The U.S. lead was 14 early in the third, looking poised to pull away. But the offense quickly went cold and when Evan Fournier connected on a 3-pointer with 3:05 left in the quarter the lead was down to 65-59 — a 12-4 run by the hosts.

And with a chance to go up double-digits headed to the fourth, a big U.S. blunder gave France another jolt of momentum. Anthony Edwards and Durant got their signals crossed on a pass that led to a turnover, Nando De Colo scored to beat the buzzer and the U.S. lead was only 72-66 going into the final 10 minutes.

It got as close as three. No closer, thanks to Curry. It was four 3-pointers in a span of 2:12, and they immediately went into Olympic lore.

"A big shot to put us up six. That kind of settled everything," Curry said. "And then the rhythm, the avalanche came, and thankfully the other three went in. That was an unbelievable moment. I've been blessed to play basketball at a high level for a very long time. This ranks very high in terms of excitement and the sense of relief, getting to the finish line."

It was the eighth time in Olympic history — and Sunday's women's final between the U.S. and France will mark the ninth — that the home team got to play for basketball gold.

Home teams are now 5-3 in those games, 2-1 on the men's side. The U.S. men and women both won in 1984 and 1996; the women of the Soviet Union won in 1980, while Australia's women lost to the U.S. in 2000 and Japan's women also lost to the U.S. at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

For James, it was one more thing for the never-ending list that is his legacy. For Durant, it was history with four golds. For Booker, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo, it was a second gold. For Jrue Holiday, it was a second gold to match his wife — soccer great Lauren Cheney Holiday — for the family lead. For Derrick White, Tyrese Haliburton, Joel Embiid and Anthony Edwards, it was the first Olympic title.

And for Curry, it was a long time coming. The Olympics never fit into his schedule until now. The Americans couldn't have been more thrilled that he was there for this one.

He likened it to a Game 7 on the road, which it basically was. He's had enormous success in those moments: a 50-point outburst to lead Golden State past Sacramento in 2023, and a 27-point, nine-rebound, 10-assist game to win a do-or-die in Houston in 2018.

And now, this.

"It's right up there with all of the greatest games of his career," Kerr said. "The shot-making was just incredible. But under the circumstances, 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."

Jokic's triple-double leads Serbia to Olympic bronze

When it was all over, Bogdan Bogdanovic pumped his fist and leaped high as his teammates celebrated at midcourt and Serbian flags waved wildly in the Bercy Arena stands.

Less than 40 hours after enduring one of the most gut-wrenching losses in its history, Serbia had found its way back to the the Olympic medal podium.

Nikola Jokic produced the fifth triple-double in Olympic history and Serbia beat Germany 93-83 on Saturday to win the men's basketball bronze medal at the Paris Games.

Jokic finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists as Serbia claimed its first medal in the sport since winning silver in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro. The Serbians bounced back to beat the world champions after nearly upsetting the four-time defending gold medalist U.S. team in the semifinals.

"This bronze shines like gold for us," said Vasilije Micic, who added 19 points.

Jokic joined Sasha Belov of the former Soviet Union, U.S. star LeBron James (twice) and Slovenia's Luka Doncic as the only players with Olympic triple-doubles.

Bogdanovic, who finished with 16 points, credited 74-year-old Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic with helping the team turn the page after absorbing the disappointment of the U.S. loss.

"He gave us a great speech even after that game," Bogdanovic said. "He kept the spirit in the team. ... Even though we lost, we had the same mindset. It was difficult to sleep. We didn't sleep that day or night at all. But the next day he was ready with a meeting. The same meeting we did the whole year. We play together, we win together, we lose together."

Saturday's game was a rematch of last year's FIBA World Cup final, but with a different outcome. Serbia led throughout in this one, building as much as a 19-point lead in the third quarter.

Franz Wagner had 19 points to lead Germany, and Mortiz Wagner added 16.

"We're still one of the best teams in the world. That's what I believe," Germany captain Dennis Schroder said. "But basketball sometimes doesn't go your way, and sports in general doesn't go your way."

WATCH | Canada falls short in men's basketball despite NBA stars:

NBA stars don’t bring Canada’s basketball team a medal

4 months ago

Duration 2:02

Despite being stacked with NBA players and getting off to a strong start, the Canadian men’s basketball team had a disappointing loss to France in the Olympic quarterfinals.

Germany coach Gordon Herbert, who will leave the national team after the Olympics after signing a deal to become the coach of EuroLeague's FC Bayern Munich, was proud of this team's run.

"Not the end that we wanted, but these guys have heart and soul for three years," Herbert said.

The World Cup victory was part a 12-game win streak in major international competition for the Germans, who won their first four games in Paris to reach the semifinals. But they lost their last two, also falling to host France in the semifinals on Thursday