Assembling the Avengers version of Team USA was a long process. Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James had a big role in getting the stars together for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant remembered James “texting everybody” in 2023 about players who should be on Team USA, per Sam Amick of The Athletic.
And when Durant learned that his former Golden State Warriors teammate Stephen Curry was going to be part of the squad as well, that’s when he realized that the trip and experience in Paris would be something different.
“Last summer, ‘Bron started texting everybody, giving his input on who we all think should be on the team, and (asking) if everybody was playing,” said Durant, the former Warriors star who became the first player in the program’s celebrated history to win four Olympic gold medals. “When we start sending those (kinds of) texts out, I kind of knew we were all going to get together and that this was a special time.
“I knew Steph was going to play. He had never been on an Olympic team before. He had a World Championship but wanted the Olympic medal. So it was a no-brainer, especially when those two committed, and once the team was built, I kind of knew it was going to be special.”
And special it really was.
Curry won his first Olympic gold medal unforgettably, as he played hero for Team USA in the semifinals against Nikola Jokic and Serbia and again in the finals against host France. Versus Serbia, Curry went off for 36 points with nine 3-pointers. In the France game, Curry delivered in the clutch to finish with 24 points on the strength of eight 3-pointers, including four with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
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