The Paris Olympics showcased a once-in-a-lifetime moment as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry officially played together for the first and likely last time.
The three of them are the most important and influential figures of this era in the NBA, and only out of respect for the figures of Kobe Bryant.
Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal I don’t say of the century. These three NBA icons, led the USA Basketball Team to a gold medal, defeating France 98-87.
Their performance was particularly remarkable in the the fourth quarter of both the semifinals and finals game.
Overcoming a deficit to secure victory and reinforce their legacy as a “Dream Team 2.0.”
Golden State Warriors’ head coach, Steve Kerr, added a second Olympic gold to his accolades, having been an assistant in Tokyo 2020.
While Kerr had previously coached Durant and Curry to two consecutive NBA championships, this was his first opportunity to coach LeBron James. After the gold medal win, Kerr expressed his admiration for James, saying, “What a blessing to coach him, finally, after all these years of coaching against him and trying to figure out how to beat him.”
This praise might be surprising for Kerr’s former Chicago Bull teammate Michael Jordan, given the ongoing debate over who is the NBA’s GOAT. Mainly the “I’m a Lebron fan for life.” something that at least to the public in the six years he was in Chicago he never said about Jordan but in six weeks with the US Team in which he coincided with Lebron made him a fan for life. Knowing the winning side that “The Last Dance” has shown us about Jordan, maybe when he congratulated Kerr on the victory, he said something about what he said about Lebron.
Since Kerr came to the Warriors in 2014 his biggest rival has undoubtedly been Lebron James, first with four straight Finals appearances against him and now playing him and the Los Angeles Lakers four times a year in the Pacific Division of the West Conference. I hope Curry, Durant and James enjoyed playing, being together and winning the gold medal because now they have just over two months to rest before the season starts in October and they are back to being enemies on the court.
The three playing in the Pacific Division with the Warriors, Suns and Lakers allows fans to see them face each other at least four times a year. Let’s see if injuries, load management, allow us to enjoy the final seasons of these three basketball phenoms. The NBA is loaded with young talent and the quick elimination of James, Curry and Durant last season from title contention is a clear example that even though they are superstars, the competition is tighter than ever in history.
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Source: USA Today
