The United States team claimed the gold medal after defeating France 98-87 in the final of Paris 2024. Dream Team USA claimed their fifth consecutive gold medal in basketball, with Athens 2004 being the last time they did not reach the final.
France came close to the United States throughout the game but was never able to tie the game after trailing by seven or eight points for much of the match.
The hosts had the same result as at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when they lost to the USA.
In this game, the American team was more involved in the game. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry exchanged the ball and the baskets.
Steph Curry sent France to sleep
Curry took it upon himself to shut down any chances of victory for France. He made three consecutive three-pointers and finished with 24 points, all coming from the three-point line with eight made. This was Chef Curry’s first appearance in the Olympics.
The prize that was missing
An Olympic gold medal was the only accolade missing from Stephen Curry’s impressive list of achievements throughout his successful career, and in Paris 2024 he established himself as one of the great stars of American basketball.
At the team level, the point guard has won practically everything. He has been an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors on four occasions. He has been chosen as the MVP of the season on two occasions, one of them unanimously, being the first player in history to achieve this.
He participated in 10 NBA All-Star Games, was the MVP of an NBA final among many other titles and as of this Saturday, he is also an Olympic gold medal winner with Team USA, with which he had already been world champion twice (2010 and 2014).
In France, NBA star Victor Wembanyama led the team in points (26) and was second in rebounds (7).
Guerschon Yabusele also shone for the hosts, although it was not enough against the Dream Team’s machinery.
The United States arrived with the mission of defending its gold medal in Tokyo 2020 after having lost the 2023 FIBA World Cup and doubts that arose about the basketball team.
Team USA maintains its dominance in basketball as the best team in history, although it is closer to its rivals who have managed to compete with the American team year after year.
Kevin Durant becomes the basketball player with the most gold medals after winning four gold medals in four appearances.
At the Paris Games, LeBron equaled the three golds and one bronze won by Carmelo Anthony – until last Thursday the most decorated basketball player in Olympic history – but Durant surpassed them both by winning his fourth title. The fifth in a row for the Dream Team, who raised their own historical record of Olympic titles to 17.
France was demanding the best Dream Team, just as Serbia had demanded it, a symptom of Europe’s strength in the world of basketball. Nothing that the United States has not already experienced in its own flesh. And that it did not experience in those last minutes of the Olympic final, with its rival burning its ships (79-82) to the cry of Allez la France. Both teams were rushing forward, victims of the fatigue of the duel and the tournament. Yabusele stole, Wemby crushed, but in this confrontation, the United States always has something more, a sixth gear. For example, four stratospheric triples by Curry in the last two minutes. The trademark of the Dream Team is the trademark of gold.
