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A foot on the line guaranteed 61 consecutive wins for Team USA’s women’s basketball squad, which now means six gold medals for Diana Taurasi – six!
The Golden Dagger 🥇
Steph Curry put the entire tournament to bed
Nuit nuit! Four years of French honors in high school told me that translates to “Night, night.” That’s what Steph Curry said to Serbia and France in consecutive games on Team USA’s way to the gold medal. The men’s team took home gold for the fifth straight Olympics and the eighth time in nine Olympic Games since NBA players were allowed to compete.
I’ve openly been an arrogant American basketball fan, daring the rest of the world to beat Team USA. And while some might want to focus on close contests as proof of the world having caught up, I will disagree vehemently. The gold medals are hanging around Team USA’s collective necks, and I can thank Curry, who went crazy against Serbia and did it again in the gold medal game against France. To recap:
- He had 36 points (one shy of Team USA’s Olympic single-game mark set by Carmelo Anthony) and went 9-of-14 from deep in the 95-91 semifinal win. USA outscored Serbia 32-15 in the final frame.
- Then, Curry continued his onslaught in the final against France. A first-time Olympian at 36, he had 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from deep, including four 3-pointers in the final 2:47 of the game to keep France at bay. Team USA ended up winning 98-87, although France had it down to a three-point game with three minutes left.
Every time France looked like they might make Team USA nervous, Curry answered with a 3-pointer, including this “golden dagger” — deemed as such by Noah Eagle on the call for NBC — in which Curry hit a ridiculous 3 over two defenders to put USA up nine with 35 ticks left.
Brought in the closer. 🎯
🇺🇸 #USABMNT
pic.twitter.com/RxAaKD3J3S— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 10, 2024
Look at how absurd this is. Watch the bench react here. France got the ball out of Curry’s hands, only for Kevin Durant to force it back to his former Warriors teammate because he’s seen this menu from Chef Curry before. (Also, shoutout to Eagle, because “golden dagger” is a dope call.)
There was also an incredible call from the French TV feed that has been taken down from X, but this glorious screenshot/meme from the French announcers will live on:
Everybody around the NBA couldn’t help but be in awe. Curry buried France in the final whenever they threatened late, just like he saved the Americans with his shooting against Serbia in a 17-point comeback. And that’s the beauty of Team USA when they take a tournament seriously, as far as the roster goes: You can’t focus on Curry because four other All-NBA-level players are on the court. If he gets free, you get less than gold.
To be clear: I will not stop being the arrogant American basketball fan as long as Team USA keeps winning gold. There are some exceptional teams out there to challenge, but actually winning is an entirely different feat. You’ll need another generational wave of international hoopers for other countries to keep up in 2028 in Los Angeles, too. Nuit nuit and good luck.
Speaking of a generational wave of hoopers …
Looking Ahead
Building out Team USA’s 2028 men’s squad
Hey, speaking of 2028, it’s never too early to start pontificating about which 12 might make that squad. That’s been the conversation bubbling for some time now after the national crisis of “Jayson Tatum didn’t really play much” hit our social media feeds. What if he doesn’t want to play in 2028 now?! And with him reposting Vince Staples saying, “We will avenge Jayson Tatum,” maybe that is the right concern. It’s the opposite of how Tyrese Haliburton took his lack of playing time.
After covering the Paris Games, Joe Vardon wasted no time looking ahead to 2028, writing today that Tatum is going to be a big question mark. Will he or won’t he play? He’ll be 30 by then and still plenty capable of being a key figure for Team USA, even though he wasn’t this time.
The Americans would, theoretically, need someone like Tatum to take on a much bigger role in 2028 because of the guys leaving the squad. LeBron James will be 43. Steph Curry will be 40. Kevin Durant will be 39. Those guys won’t be on the team … right? At least for the sake of argument, let’s say those three first-ballot Hall of Famers won’t be there. And we’re not sure if Joel Embiid will be either. Let’s also recognize Victor Wembanyama will be 24 then and said he’s already “worried” on behalf of France’s opponents next time.
So, what does this squad potentially look like? Will Jaylen Brown still be screaming “conspiracy” in 2028 and decline if he’s extended an invitation to join up? From the current squad, Devin Booker (27 years old), Anthony Edwards (23), Anthony Davis (31), Bam Adebayo (27), Tyrese Haliburton (24) and Tatum (26) would be my locks. That’s six guys right there. I don’t think Jrue Holiday (34) or Derrick White (30) will still be in the mix.
Let’s find six new guys. It was pretty clear from the Team USA select team matchups that Cooper Flagg is already destined for this USA life. Let’s slot him in. There will need to be a couple of lead guards, so here are some candidates:
Let’s pick Brunson and Fox here. This seems to fit the mold for what Team USA tends to look for, unless we see more growth from Young as a leader and defender in the next couple years. Or maybe Morant if he stops getting in trouble? Now, we need some more size to throw into the mix for bigs and even just wings/forwards. These are some options:
- Paolo Banchero: Great experience in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
- Jaylen Brown: Just get over it.
- Jabari Smith Jr: Actually a perfect “role player” big for this team.
- Chet Holmgren: Our hope against Wemby?
- Zion Williamson: Just be healthy.
- Jalen Williams: Already a perfect wing for this.
- Brandon Miller: Could be a perfect wing for this.
- Evan Mobley: If he can hit jumpers by then, he’s a lock.
- Ace Bailey: Another one of those 2025 prospects to eye.
- Herb Jones: Another perfect role player wing for this.
- Mikal Bridges: Also got some good experience in FIBA play.
We’re taking four here, so I’m grabbing Chet, Flagg, Mobley and Brown. That means we’ve got them plus Ant, Hali, Book, Bam, Brow, Tatum, Brunson and Fox. Is that good enough for gold? This was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I, too, am mad at myself for the snubs here.
Christmas List
The NBA hands Thunder a holiday snub
We should be getting the 2024-25 NBA schedule any day now, with the Olympics over and the WNBA firing up again in a few days. But thanks to Shams, we already know the Christmas slate of games. These are the five reported matchups the league has deemed must-see television:
You’ll notice the Oklahoma City Thunder (last season’s West No. 1 seed) and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are nowhere to be found. Uh … why? The Knicks are always there — and force-feeding us Wemby on TV is something I’ll always welcome. The Wolves and Mavs are a rematch of the conference finals, so I get that. The new-look Sixers make sense as a Celtics opponent, as long as Embiid is healthy. We’re going to get LeBron against Curry. We don’t have many of those left, so that’s cool.
The Thunder against the Celtics would be a better game, though. Also: Nikola Jokić is the best player in the world, but have the Suns earned their stamp to be a Christmas Day opponent? OKC most definitely got snubbed and should be a team the NBA is embracing and promoting before the dumb CBA breaks up its core.
Bounce Passes
Who are you taking first in an NBA 21-and-under mock draft?
Team USA called themselves The Avengers. It kind of works.
Even for Steph Curry, that gold medal game was absurd.
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(Top photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images )
