After a slow start in which they found themselves trailing Serbia 10-2, the United States men’s national basketball team clicked into gear and defeated Nikola Jokic and company handily to begin their sprint for gold at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
However, some controversy emerged despite the comfortable 110-84 win at Pierre Mauroy Stadium. For one, Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum did not play a single minute despite being healthy, and Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry elicited criticism for a late-game decision that was questioned on social media.
Curry’s late triple in a blowout victory
With the shot clock turned off and the United States leading Serbia 107-84, Curry opted to fire a 3-point attempt with just 6.3 seconds left in a contest that had long been decided. As he often does, Curry nailed the shot and turned to celebrate before it had tickled the twine — the final exclamation point in what eventually become a dominant victory for Team USA.
Some fans on X/Twitter called Curry “disrespectful” for attempting the shot when he could have simply run out the clock — but largely, praise was sent Curry’s way after he scored 11 points in 21 minutes with three 3-pointers. Another angle showed that the four-time NBA champion hustled hard to secure an offensive rebound off a LeBron James miss — and as the saying goes, “shooters shoot.”
At any rate, Curry is a born entertainer, and he is soaking up every second of his first Olympic Games. At 36 years old, Curry has an opportunity to add a gold medal to his bulging trophy cabinet — which also includes two regular-season MVP awards and a Finals MVP in 2022 — and he is clearly focused on living in the moment, no matter what the game clock says.