There is no question that Steph Curry saved Team USA's hopes of winning gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
His late-tournament heroics -- specifically his late 3-point flurry in the gold-medal game against France -- lifted the Americans past the host French team and, to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, were deserving of the Olympics MVP Award, which was given to LeBron James.
"Steph Curry showed up, and I can't say enough about him," Smith said on "The Stephen A. Smith Show." "Let me say this: LeBron James was the MVP. He's the one who ultimately captured MVP for the Olympics, being the Olympics MVP. I thought Steph Curry deserved it. But under no circumstance am I throwing any shade on LeBron James for getting it because he was a model of consistency in these games.
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" ... It's just that when you are as spectacular as Steph Curry was in a game against Serbia that would've denied Team USA a trip to the gold-medal game had Steph Curry not showed up and saved the day, dropping 36. And then in the gold-medal game, the 24 he scored, all on 3-pointers. Oh and by the way, 4 of 4 in the last 2:48. What can you say? It was spectacular. Steph Curry was spectacular. You saw LeBron, you saw [Kevin Durant] deferring to Steph because when you get hot like that you know who to give the damn ball to.
"So I thought Steph Curry deserved the MVP because of that."
Making his Olympic debut, Curry struggled in the first few games of the tournament, including a lackluster showing against South Sudan in which he finished with just three points and was 1-of-9 from the field and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. But when he got going, the Chef was cooking.
Golden State Warriors
Curry had a 36-point outburst in the semifinal matchup with Nikola Jokić and Serbia to keep Team USA's once-dying gold-medal hopes alive.
The Warriors superstar finished the six-game tournament averaging a team-best 14.8 points on 50-percent shooting from the field and 47.8 percent from deep, adding 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Meanwhile, James was great in his own right.
After showing no signs of Father Time in Team USA's group phase opener against Serbia with a 21-point performance, James was one of the most consistent and reliable Americans throughout the remaining five contests.
On top of going to get his own, he created for others and finished the semifinal game with a triple-double and the gold-medal game with a double-double.
The King earned the Olympics MVP Award after averaging 14.2 points on 66-percent shooting from the field and 30.1 percent from downtown, contributing 6.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists.
While Smith believes Curry was more deserving of the award, he still gave his flowers to one of the greatest to ever do it.
"The man, what can you say about LeBron James? He still seemed in better condition than practically everyone out there," Smith said. "LeBron James is just phenomenal. Major love goes to him for being the leader that he was, for stepping up the way he did throughout the Olympic competition. I can't say enough about him. I'm not throwing any shade."
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