The French got to within three points with three minutes remaining, then Steph Curry did what only Steph Curry does.
Then Stephen Curry did what only Curry does, knocking down a deep three to kill off a French comeback just when hope was at an all-night high.
The gold-medal match marked the last time LeBron James – the greatest athlete on the planet and arguably the greatest in sporting history, given his longevity – would don the United States jersey, It said more about James’ longevity than Wembanyama’s youth that, after choosing to sit out the past two Olympic Games, the 39-year-old was returning to play in his fourth.After playing a starring role in overcoming a 17-point deficit to topple Nikola Jokic and Serbia in an epic semi-final two days earlier, James showed every bit of his experience to block out an intimidating environment and collect his third gold medal, to go with his four NBA championship rings.
But with a raucous home crowd behind them, and a rapidly improving Wembanyama, there was a sense of belief that the impossible was possible.There was plenty of noise leading into the game about coach Steve Kerr opting not to play Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum in the semi-final against Serbia.
Joel Embiid went into the final as the most hated man in Paris. The French, unimpressed by Embiid pledging his allegiance to the United States despite being eligible to play for the host nation, have jeered the former NBA most valuable player every time he has touched the ball at the Olympics.That only intensified in the final, following Embiid’s claims in the lead-up to the match that he would tell the locals to “suck it”.
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