What NBA Legends Think of Steph Curry’s Insane Olympic Performance

he showed on the highest level he's clutch those last four shots were pressure shots because if he misses him it's a different game people are going to remember this moment in Steph career more than probably any shot he's taken hey ass said I just showed up 3 days ago hey my Bo got the pairs about 3 days ago but we so glad he got here when you are as spectacular as Steph Curry was in a game against Serbia that would have denied Team USA a trip to the gold medal game if Steph Curry hadn't showed up and saved the day dropping 36 and then in the gold medal game the 24 that he scored all on three-pointers and oh by the way 4 or4 in the last 248 ladies and gentlemen what can you say it was spectacular Steph Curry was spectacular and you saw LeBron and you saw KD and you saw everybody deferring to to Steph Curry because when you get hot like that you know who to get the damn ball to so that's what it is I thought Steph Curry deserved the MVP because of that not because LeBron wasn't great cuz he was but when you steal pivotal moments like that to secure gold in two Thrillers Serb and then France you deserve the MVP I thought Steph should have got it but I ain't knocking LeBron one I just thought Steph should have got it not only NBA fans were Witnesses this time the eyes of the whole world were on him on the biggest stage anyone could ever imagine in an Olympic Games final that would decide his legacy forever Steph Curry had an unforgettable performance in the last 2 minutes this man scored four clutch threes that saved Team USA four clutch threes that had they not happened could have meant a huge disappointment for the biggest Powerhouse in the history of basketball because let's not act as if the game was easy let's not act as if France did not have the potential to win the game with only a few minutes to go the host team was only down by three points the French fans were as intense as ever in the dream of winning the Olympic gold on their home soil seemed closer than ever however one of Steph's four three-pointers brought them back to reality an unforgettable three-pointer of an enormous degree of difficulty that woke everyone up from the dream and the rest of the NBA players and legends did not take long to talk about what had happened I mean it was not for Less everyone thought the Olympics were going to be a cakewalk for the team that LeBron Steph and KD had started recruiting a little over a year ago and let's tell the truth this wouldn't have happened without Noah ly at a press conference the track athlete managed to ignite the entire NBA and basketball world with his statements you know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA finals and they have world champion on their head world champion of what the United States it only took four words world champion of what because those statements came at the right time ly had become the world champion in track Ren field just before he spoke at a press conference and Team USA was ready to compete in the 2023 World Championships in the Philippines Japan and Indonesia Steve Kerr did not bring his best roster in fact Anthony Edwards was clearly the leader of a team that suffered a very painful elimination because the reality is that team USA's performance in that competition was terrible they lost the semi-finals to Dennis schroers Germany and then lost the third place game to sheay gilas Alexander's Canada and for a few months it looked like Noah ly was right if Team USA didn't prove to be the best national team in the world what was the point of the NBA champion receiving the title of world champions so team USA's big three got down to business the recruiting phase began and when the chosen roster showed up for the first matchups they looked like the stars of the next Avengers movie LeBron Steph KD embiid ad Tatum ant Drew bam and even Kawai at the beginning of training camp it was surreal however it wasn't the BET of roses they thought it would be even in the month of July itself Team USA was not able to get on track they won most of their exhibition games in preparations for the Olympics by slim leads in fact the South Sudan team which was one of the weakest teams of the tournament almost beat them if it wasn't for a spectacular clutch layup by LeBron James but it seems that once the tournament started they got their act together Team USA was Superior to its Rivals throughout the tournament and they went into the medal games undefeated but Steph was not having the best month of his life from a basketball standpoint the guard was having a very discreet tournament disappointing even if we take into account the huge standards that a player of his talent is supposed to have Steph was averaging only seven and a half points in the four wins that allowed Team USA to qualify for the semi-finals but as Anthony Edward said after winning the gold that's when Curry showed up to play Hey and said I just showed up three days ago hey my Bo just got bear about 3 days ago but we so glad he got here the guard not only carried his team into the semi-finals against I scoring nine three-pointers in a game high 36 points he also did it in the final against France this time it was only 24 points but the thing is is that he scored 12 points when his team needed it the most in the last moments of the last quarter when the ball is burning in the hands when the responsibilities and expectations of an entire country fall on the shoulders of one man that's when Steph showed that his team needed him that without him the gold medal was just an illusion but he did it in the craziest thing that happened on the court that night was his last three-pointer of the game a long range shot off the dribble that he knocked down in the face of Evan fornier and Nico Batum and of course the reactions were quick to come in first on X where other American players and stars were able to show their opinion practically live players like Josh Hart the Knicks guard who knows perfectly well how impossible it is to defend Steph Curry or his backcourt partner on the Knicks Jaylen Brunson another undersized guard who knows how complicated it was was what Steph was doing on the court and how difficult it is to score in crunch time when your frame is not the most athletically gifted or Superstars like Trey young a really special case considering that many people compared him and even still compare him to Steph a player whose style of play would never have been so bold without the influence of one of the best point guards of all time even another player known for his clutch play Damen Lillard who has had dozens of du with Steph in the Western Conference when he played for the Portland Trailblazers showed his amazement at Cur performance almost instantly or Donovan Mitchell the star of the Cleveland Cavaliers another guard known for his incredible ability to perform in crunch time as we saw in the 2020 bubble playoffs another player capable of making the impossible a reality but even he was amazed at what Steph had done yet another example dear D rozan the Raptor Legend who just signed a contract with the Sacramento Kings wasn't missing the game and to impress a 15-year veteran you have to do something out of the ordinary right Legends like Kevin Garnett also added to the warrior guard's appreciation a trash talker a player you didn't want to cross paths with on the floor but a player who knows how to appreciate when he sees something out of the ordinary as if that wasn't enough right after he tweeted a picture of Steph shooting over wemi a pick that looks like something out of the biblical Battle of David versus Goliath but what Steph had done had not only caught the attention of players in the league because W NBA players like Superstar Asia Wilson paid their respects on the same social network so did n NFL players like Philadelphia Eagles running back saquan Barkley or tennis players Francis taao or Naomi Osaka the Olympic Games bring together the best athletes from all over the world and everyone's eyes were on a match that was destined to be historic Steph was the only one who made it happen the celebrations went on for hours even during the following days we saw earlier the reaction of Anthony Edwards the future American generational player who will have to lead Team USA for the next decade and of course we saw the reactions of all of his teammates the bench was in shock when he did it so was Carmelo Anthony who was on the sideline supporting his teammates and couldn't believe it and of course also his teammates who were on the court I mean LeBron and Durant were wide open when Steph hit that fourth three-pointer that was the dagger Imaging shooting an impossible shot instead of passing it to one of the best players to ever touch a basketball just crazy of course we couldn't miss the reaction of one of the men that made Steph's career so legendary we're talking obviously about Steve Kerr his coach both on the Golden State Warriors and Team USA a man who has seen him grow and become one of the best players in history and in the postgame press conference Kerr made it clear why Curry was able to do what he did that night of course we're talking about his incredible work ethic coach reminded me at a certain point early like the game will come to you if you allow it and even if I was missing shots like just stay engaged and that kind of fed into being locked in for these last two games cuz the game called for me to you you know get shots up and and knock him down Seria game just kind of keep us a float until we could get over the hump and then tonight obviously to close it down but you just stay confident stay present don't get rattled by the moment those last two and a half minutes were special guys were hyping me up we had confidence and what we were trying to do Steph's being modest he he earned this the last couple weeks I mean I I actually wanted to go to him and say maybe take a day off cuz he was working so hard every day the work ethic and and I tell people all the time when Kevin was with our team my favorite part of practice with the Warriors was after practice watching these two work and it's it's not an accident that they're able to do what they do down the stretch of games um the work you know just watching these two guys day after day after day is really impressive when you see these guys behind the scenes and how hard they work how how much they love the process of the work itself it all makes sense that um they're as good as they are and that's when the debate came up well one of them because Steph Curry's performance has created many different debates the question is what is the best highlight of his career every Legend has an iconic moment a moment that people remember perfectly even decades after it happened Michael Jordan and his the shot against the Utah Jazz the game's over LeBron James and his block against Iguodala in game seven of the 2016 finals James Ellen Iverson in his crossover against Tyron L he's way too good he steps around Lou Who by the way was one of Kerr's assistants on Team USA the question is could that last three-pointer against France be the most iconic moment of Steph Curry's career Gilbert Arenas believes it is I think it's how Steph got the gold is more important than just the medal itself right he showed on the highest level he's clutch every shot those last four shots were pressure shots because if he misses them it's a different game people are going to remember this moment in Step career more than probably any shot he's taken and honestly I think so too but how is it possible how is it possible that a professional career that started in 2009 that has had absolutely everything four championships a unanimous MVP a surreal run like 2022 how is it possible that the most iconic moment happened on such a big St age in a game that absolutely every fan in every country in the world is watching while the answer is simple that's the ability that generational players have the ability to be remembered but the truth is there was also another debate the debate about the MVP of the tournament we all know that award was given to LeBron James after a spectacular and consistent tournament that he played at almost 40 years of age and yes in a way it's a logical decision his consistency was incredible and he was the best player during many of the games they played played he even became the first player with multiple triple doubles in the Olympics but the truth is that the last two games that decided the medals the best player of Team USA was Steph for the simple fact that he averaged 30 points between the two games in the FBA context where less minutes are played there's much less space and defenses are much more intense and his Nam sake Stephen A Smith was one of the first to make that clear when you are as spectacular as Steph Curry was in a game against ser that would have denied Team USA a trip to the gold medal game if Steph Curry hadn't showed up and saved a day droing 36 and then in a gold medal game the 24 that he scored all on three pointers and oh by the way 4 or4 in the last 248 ladies and gentlemen what can you say it was spectacular Steph Curry was spectacular and you saw LeBron and you saw KD and you saw everybody deferring to to Steph Curry cuz when you get hot like that you know who to get the damn ball to so that's what it is I thought Steph Curry deserved the MVP because of that not because LeBron wasn't great cuz he was but when you steal pivotal moments like that to secure gold in two Thrillers Serbian and then France you deserve the MVP I thought Steph should have got it but I ain't knocking LeBron one bit I just thought Steph should have got it but those weren't the only two debates that opened up because another debate perhaps the most important to Steph's Legacy picked up a lot of steam in the days after the game a few months ago Curry said on Gilbert Arena's podcast that he considered himself the best point guard of all time are you the best point guard ever yes I have yes and while that sounds crazy to say it's completely realistic a title that surely Steph has to fight with Magic Johnson with that architect of the Lakers Showtime who managed to create one of the most powerful dynasties of the80s but really does Steph have anything to Envy magic Jeff Teague another 12year veteran who was a starter for most of his career thinks not so yeah if I got Kobe 3 then Steph definitely in there cuz I got him better than magic especially if he won another ring yeah if you look at it in perspective Steph's Legacy had some weaknesses it wasn't a completely sweet story he had poor finals performances early in his career and he hadn't been able to elevate his team to the top after Kevin Durant's departure to the Brooklyn Nets but there have been two events that have changed everything around them the first of course is the incredible 2022 playoff run Steph propelled the Warriors to the top in an incredible carry job in which he showed why he was one of the best guards in history a ring that put him in a privileged position historically for what it really meant in a post Prime Warriors that no one gave him a chance Curry achieved The Impossible but his Olympic gold was the only thing he was missing it was the only empty spot in his trophy case a merit that many of the best players in history have achieved a merit that they now also share with Steph Curry his unconditional fans already placed him in a historical top 10 even before his fourth ring but the most skeptical have had to end up sharing that opinion because it's impossible to think of 10 players whose Legacy is so great not only for being the best shooter in basketball history not only for being a four-time champion in an era where titles are incredibly difficult but also for becoming one of the most influential athletes of all time the NBA reacted in unison to an unprecedented phenomenon because we will never ever ever see a player like Steph Curry a brilliant mind ahead of his time who has changed basketball forever