The United States maintained their grip on the Olympic men’s basketball title by overwhelming hosts France to win a fifth successive gold medal in Paris.
A star-studded American team packed with NBA icons, led by LeBron James and Stephen Curry, demonstrated their quality to win 98-87 amid a febrile atmosphere at Bercy Arena.
The success saw the current crop emulate the 1992 ‘Dream Team’ which they have been regularly compared to.
In front of almost 20,000 boisterous fans, France refused to roll over and moved back within three points at 82-79 with the clock ticking down in the final quarter.
But Curry, as he so regularly does, instantly landed a three-pointer for 85-79 to ease the pressure and swished three more as the Americans raced away.
“You just simply marvel in his talent,” said James about Curry. “Obviously, I’ve seen it before on the opposite side, you have just got to keep finding ways to keep getting him the ball.”
Pretty much every US Olympic squad since the Barcelona Games has been compared to the side led by Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
Six teams have won Olympic gold – but none have ever come close to being revered like this Gen Z ensemble cast.
Now, after securing victory in Paris, a group featuring four NBA regular season MVP winners – James, Curry, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid – 11 NBA All-Stars and seven NBA champions has to be mentioned in the same breath.
Curry was the focal point of the American celebrations when the final hooter went, hugged by his team-mates and draped in a Stars and Stripes flag by James.
“Stephen ended up being the difference,” said coach Steve Kerr. “The flurry at the end of the game was just incredible. I’ve seen it a few times, but it never gets old.
“But it’s the whole group, it’s all 12 guys, these last six weeks of putting in so much work.”
Curry said: “There’s a lot of relief. It wasn’t easy but I’m so excited. This is everything that I wanted it to be and more.”
Source: BBC
