We followers will at all times have Paris.
This has been an Olympics to recollect for hoop followers and USA Basketball, when a era of all-time nice gamers got here collectively to have some enjoyable, push one another and win gold. They did simply that, beating France in dramatic vogue on Saturday.
For followers, it was an opportunity to savor watching these greats collectively one final time on a world stage. It was an opportunity to see them at their peak and dealing collectively in a means all of us too not often see (actually not on the All-Star Recreation).
For the gamers, it was an opportunity to color their legacies in gold.
That begins with Stephen Curry.
Even when he had stayed house this summer season and labored on his golf handicap, Curry would have headed the Corridor of Fame as the best shooter who ever lived. Nevertheless, he would have entered the Corridor with one gap in his resume, no gold medal. So this summer season he went to Paris and, within the medal spherical, painted that legacy a glowing gold.
Curry scored 60 factors and hit 17 3-pointers throughout the ultimate two video games of the Paris Olympics, and the USA received the gold medal due to it.
His was simply one of many legacies added to in Paris.
Kevin Durant got here and made historical past. First he handed Lisa Leslie to grow to be the all-time main scorer in USA Basketball Olympic historical past. On prime of that, he now has 4 gold medals — probably the most of any males’s Olympic basketball participant ever.
Durant is a pure hooper; he merely loves basketball. He desires to be pushed, to be challenged, and enjoying for USA Basketball offers him that (particularly in follow), so he saved coming again (he would not rule out a 2028 return).
Durant needs to be remembered as the best FIBA participant ever.
LeBron James already had gold on his resume — a resume that already has him within the GOAT dialog. But he got here to Paris at age 39 he was the tone setter and MVP of Group USA all through the Paris Olympics.
LeBron completed the Olympics main the USA with 14.2 factors, 8.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds a recreation — he was the Olympics MVP.
Jrue Vacation joined Scottie Pippen as the one gamers to win an NBA title then an Olympic gold medal in the identical yr — twice. Vacation received gold in Tokyo after profitable an NBA title with Milwaukee, and now the Celtics’ guard has performed it once more.
Group USA will likely be stacked with expertise once more in 4 years when the Olympics come to Los Angeles, however it’s going to really feel completely different. That will likely be a youthful era trying to make their mark on the worldwide stage — and really seemingly having to get previous Victor Wembanyama and France once more to do it.
However that is sooner or later.
The Paris Olympics allow us to bask within the wonderful ultimate run of one of many nice generations of basketball gamers. Name this ultimate run, their ultimate years no matter you need…
However you’d higher name them golden.
