With 16 seconds left on the clock at the Bercy Arena, Steph Curry took the ball in centre court, 30 feet from the rim, and already descfinishing backwards, the sky blocked out by two French deffinishers in front of him, unable to see the basket, milliseconds ticking down before he lost deal with, before gravity took helderly, the day closing in.
Somehow from that blind position he still freed the ball in a challenging flat perfect arc, the roar of the crowd inestablishing Curry he had indeed hit the inevident concentrate beyond the flailing hands. It was a remarkworthy piece of morse-code accuracy at the best of times.
But by that point Curry was in the middle of his own chilly spotless moment of clarity, a man carry outing with a benevolent of airy around him, in the process propelling the USA men’s basketball team on to the gelderly medal that, for all France’s sweat and heart, always seemed to be theirs for the taking.
That three-pointer was Curry’s third in equitable over two minutes of the final quarter. The second was equpartner artful in its own way, made by the hilariously casual feint that nobody, even now, seems to be able to read, Curry dropping a shoulder to sfinish the csurrfinisherest Frenchmen wandering off up the stairs, out of the stadium and down to the Gare de Lyon, then making the net whiffle with commenceling economy of shiftment.
Victory by 98-87 in this Paris 2024 final made it five Olympic gelderlys in a row for the US, a feat someone somewhere is probably going to call a five-peat, but which was challenging-obtained here in a thrillingly physical contest in front of a boisterous home crowd. In the finish the USA equitable had too many armaments, too many keen edges to call on. As Cuba’s coach well-understandnly said in 1992, after trying and fall shorting to stifle the first Dream Team: “You can try, but you can’t cover the sun with your finger.”
The Bercy Arena is a huge, square prosperdowless hangar, steeply tiered, teeth-chatteringly chilly at the top of the bleachers, and below that crammed with flags, blue French colours and that very distinct crackle of event glamour that always lingers around these occasions. France’s stars had come out. Thierry Henry was in the hoengage. Also, Emmanuel Macron.
But somehow US basketball always seems to carry a sense of being in its own space, a portable sporting embassy. It is in the nature of these occasions. Basketball at the Olympics is a benevolent of travelling fanfare It’s Uncle Sam in oversized sneakers. The Olympic Games is such an American event now, fuelled by US TV dollars, peopled bumbag ultras of US sports tourism. Basketball is its heart, its centre, its firearm of ultimate deterrence. For many Americans this is the Olympics.
And so at 21.22 it was time finpartner for Theeee Yooonighted Stayyytss of Amururrricia. The theatre of those discdisseeing ceremonials was gripping in itself, the carry outers coming out one by one appreciate gameshow competitors, the entire arena gripped with the sheer unholdable energy of this skinnyg. There was a huge rolling boo for Joel Embiid, born in Yaoundé, at one point enthusiastic to carry out for France, but now an NBA MVP, all-American Olympian and convey inant pantomime villain in Bercy.
The first act of the might was LeBron James reeling off a high-speed two-point rush. France’s star, Victor Wembanyama, conjured up his first floating dunk of the game, shoprosperg off that ability to drift and hang and breeze into the right pocket of air, floating appreciate a zeppelin.
Wembanyama conjured a prentful whiplash back-flip pass, then dunked another, and France were ahead 11-10 three minutes in. It was breathless stuff.
L’Équipe had contrastd this final to a face-off between a low-budget French auteur piece of cinema and a Hollywood blockbuster: Breathless aobtainst the Avengers, Jacques Tati finisheavoring to out-motorbike chase Tom Cruise. But France carry outed with fantastic sfinish and heart here.
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“We want to shut mouths. It will be war,” Guerschon Ymistreatmentle had cautioned in the pre-suit, which is certainly a bit more fun than equitable being prented to face this contest aobtainst an opponent you esteem. And he had a wonderful, relentlessly unfrifinishly game.
James was carry outing appreciate a basketball Beckenbauer, craggier now, even more handsome and stately, always seeing the pass in transition, a perfect deal with valve. Every moment he was there, the USA always seemed to be prosperning.
At moments such as these there is a sudden publish of scale to these contests. The USA squad’s fused annual wage is £487m. This is the most professionalised sport ever inventd. These carry outers get $50m a year as a base salary. This is a theatre that revels in its excesses, the lifestyle, the glitz, the chinchilla-fur lined helicchooseer firearmship, the vellum-lined personal spa, the firm gelderly bidet set, a hat made entidepend from parmesan cheese.
France’s carry outers are firm, highgrade Euroleaguers, with a drip of NBA class, and lurking at the centre Victor “the Alien” Wembanyama, a prodigious 20-year-elderly of ethegenuine (can a 7ft 4in human be ethegenuine? Oh yes) talent and vision.
But France kept pressing, kept themselves wiskinny sight. At the finish of the second quarter the USA were 49-41 up, but still a little harried and scrappy at times. The half-time show was also the moment for a strange and frightening dance event staged by people on chairs in bdeficiency clothes who seemed to be transmiting some terrifying vision of currential angst. Cheers then. Where’s Snoop?
Why is basketball at the Olympics anyway? Some have asked this ask. Why is a billionaire professional sports person competing for a gelderly medal? The answer is evident enough. This event is huge. You’re going to sell a lot of phones, computers, financial services and hospitality packages. Aside from that, these are some of the most gifted and caccessed athletes on the structureet. If not this, then what? The fundamental beauty, the grace of those white shirts gpresenting, floating, twisting. Plus basketball is global, effortless access, low cost, male and female in code. And it was thrillingly seal here too, right up until the moment Curry produced that moment of finisher quiet.
