Stephen Curry Ranks The ‘Golden Dagger’ From The Olympics As A Top-2 Shot In His Career

September 12, 2024

Stephen Curry Ranks The 'Golden Dagger' From The Olympics As A Top-2 Shot In His Career

Stephen Curry had a legacy-defining moment this summer with his three-point barrage in the Gold medal game to defeat France in his first and only Olympic appearance for Team USA. Under Armour asked Steph to rank the ‘Golden Dagger’ among his best career shots, with Curry putting it in the top two.

“It’s so memorable because of the buildup to that moment. My first Olympic experience, four threes in a row to close out the Gold medal game, and the last one, which was kind of a ridiculous shot even by my standards. All that to say, it’s like top two for sure.

“I think the OKC game, which wasn’t a championship game, but the Mike Breen double bang, just a loud shout for our rise as a team. But I’d say the Golden Dagger is up there, top two.”

Curry’s three-point explosion against France is among the greatest moments in Team USA Olympic history, as those 12 points helped them put a resilient French team away in Paris.

The final shot of the barrage is what’s referred to as the ‘Golden Dagger,’ an incredible heat check shot over Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier from way downtown.

Speaking of ‘way downtown,’ that’s the other shot Curry had to mention here. His near half-court heave in the 2015-16 season against the OKC Thunder which helped the Warriors keep the 73-9 regular dream alive is considered one of the greatest shots in NBA history, and the defining moment in Curry’s rise to superstardom.

These shots are among a litany of incredible 3-pointers made by the league’s all-time 3-point leader. Hopefully, we see Curry add more such moments before the end of his career and further solidify himself as the greatest shooter the game has ever seen.

Kevin Durant Called Stephen Curry’s Gold Medal Barrage ‘The Greatest Heat Check Of All Time’

Curry was surrounded by some of the best players in the world when he went on his shooting spree against France. The likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant just watched as their teammate Curry went off in what Durant later called the greatest heat check of all time.

“I’ve seen so many from [Stephen Curry] now, but that was. On this stage, in his first Olympics the world watching, especially after doing what he did in the last game [against Serbia] to follow it up again, that’s probably the greatest.”

James wasn’t just a teammate watching the show during that moment, making crucial off-ball plays at Curry’s discretion to help the Warriors star get the opportunities he needed to make more shots.

“USA Basketball’s Steve Kerr said Stephen Curry requested during a timeout to run the pick-and-roll with LeBron James that set up one of his dagger threes to beat France: ‘I said, okay, let’s do that.'”

It’s been a month since that performance but it has become the lasting memory of the summer for most fans. With NBA preseason less than a month away, fans will be looking forward to seeing what Curry can achieve in his first season in 13 years without Klay Thompson.

This article first appeared on Fadeaway World and was syndicated with permission.