Steph Curry made what many are calling the most memorable shot of his basketball career Saturday, sinking a dagger 3-pointer in the final minute of Team USA's victory over France to secure a gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Warriors star is no stranger to big moments, however, and Curry's mindset during that iconic shot was as nonchalant as Dub Nation might assume. His personal trainer, Brandon Payne, recently told 95.7 The Game how Curry explained his thought process during the golden dagger in a postgame phone call.
"To be honest with you, even for me, it was surprisingly emotional for both of us, I think, and just the fact that to watch [Curry] play for a championship, to watch him play in games that are high pressure and meaningful games, those are the games, he loves to play in," Payne told "The Morning Roast" hosts Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky. "So after the game, I wasn't really expecting to hear from him. He had just gotten off the TV with [NBC Sports'] Mike Tirico and my phone rang and it was him, and I was very shocked.
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"He just called and we just kind of shared a moment and reflected on the past 15 years and just kind of talked through it. The only question I did ask him was, 'What were you thinking on that last shot you took?' And he just laughed and said, 'I was too tired to do anything else. I decided to get it up and out of my hand.' I said, 'Well, it worked out, so congratulations.' "
Curry made his clutch 3-pointer over a French double-team, opting to attempt the seemingly impossible shot as two of the game's best players, Kevin Durant and LeBron James, stood wide open to his left. Durant later called the dagger the "greatest" heat check he has seen from Curry, and now we know why the 3-point king decided to take it.
The shot -- Curry's fourth triple of the fourth quarter -- stunned the home crowd in Paris, as well as everyone watching with jubilation back home in America.
Golden State Warriors
It's a moment the basketball world and the globe at large won't soon forget, and for Payne, it was a fantastic reminder to appreciate watching Curry play in meaningful games after the Warriors missed the 2024 NBA playoffs this past season.
"To be back in a championship situation, I think that was very impactful this summer, and it was needed," Payne told Hill and Shasky. "It was something that was needed, and it was something that you want to feel, and it's just a reminder. I think the one thing that we did -- we took for granted a little bit too much during that six-year [NBA Finals] run that we were just going to be in the Finals every single year. ...
"The further we get away from that, the more foolish that sounds, the more foolish that looks, because we firmly understand now just how difficult getting back into championship situations are ... That's what I took away from it, is to appreciate when you're in meaningful games and championship games."
With the final missing piece, a gold medal, now added to Curry's trophy case, the Golden State legend and American hero certainly is ready to tackle the next task at hand: Getting the Warriors back to the postseason.
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