How Warriors star Steph pictured a gold medal win at the Olympics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Each and every one of Steph Curry’s awesome shots like his “Double Bang” game winner against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016 or his “Golden Dagger” at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics winning gold for Team USA feels like an out-of-body experience for fans watching him shoot a basketball to parts unknown. And then, you remember that Curry’s relentless routine and work ethic has him prepared for these kinds of moments.
Curry practices every shot imaginable. An imbalance. In the running. Right hand Left hand. Unfathomable distances. The Warriors superstar is ready for any eventuality.
In a different, newly formed way, Curry also made sure he was ready to address the one thing missing from his storied resume: Wearing gold around his neck on the Olympic podium while the national anthem played.
“I’ve been anticipating the moment the whole time,” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area on the latest “Dubs Talk” episode. “That was part of the mindfulness meditation I was going through.”
Leading the comeback against Serbia and running around the court with his signature “Night Night” celebration against France looked like his latest physical marvels from afar. The real deciding factor may have been a mental ability that Curry just turned to.
Yes, even Curry gets nervous. It’s a natural feeling, even for the all-time greats. For him, he sees those butterflies as a combination of performance anxiety and the extremely high expectations he places on himself. Curry had already changed an NBA franchise forever and he certainly knew what was at stake for himself, his coach in Steve Kerr and the rest of Team USA if they did not complete the work.
But this time, he didn’t have a seven-game streak to figure out a defense and adjust.
The The Olympics were a recall of sorts to when Curry first burst onto the national stage, drowning in his Davidson jersey and opening our eyes to what was to come in the next two decades. Basketball would never be the same. After he and Team USA graduated from group play at the Olympics, they found themselves in a heightened March Madness situation — one and done, no second chances.
“The comeback against Serbia and the gold medal game, the type of nerves and adrenaline that’s going on, I had to envision in my head several times that exact environment that you’re talking about: Standing on the podium, all of us wearing the same gear, seeing the raising a flag and playing the national anthem. I tried to imagine that. It almost manifested itself somehow.
“You sort of embrace the interests that you’re up against, and I think that was a good way to go about that process.”
Curry’s commitment to his craft has become legendary. His pregame routine alone could fill arenas and have fans flocking to pay the price of admission. How long was seeing part of his regiment, though?
“Very recently,” he said.
The hundreds of players in the NBA all have the same goal every season, even if the odds favor some better than others. All 82 regular-season games are built toward that goal of winning a championship, something Curry has done four times with the Warriors.
He also learned that the six-month regular season, plus a two-month playoff run, can drive you crazy if you’re fueled by trying to reach and capture the Larry O’Brien trophy every day. The daily process should be welcomed.
Even the great unknown.
That’s where Curry’s continued work on breathing, mindfulness and visualization becomes an asset that can’t be faulted.
“Breathing and all that mindfulness that helps you calm your nerves, I did a lot more of that later in my career,” Curry says. “A lot of that comes from knowing how your body responds in the heat of the fight and the emotions of it all. You kind of want to get ahead of that.
“When you’re young you just fly by the seat of your pants. You are out there just whooping. It’s a very different experience now. Both are great fun for different reasons.”
His left arm linked to Anthony Edwards when The Star-Spangled Banner was heard over the Bercy Arena speakers – Curry saw it before anyone else. Doing so saved Team USA basketball.
Who knows what Curry will conjure up in his mind next? The wait will be worth the next iconic call that follows.
