The Warriors megastar adds another award to his collection.
USA Basketball announced some of the organization’s 2024 awards on Wednesday, naming Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry the 5-on-5 Male Athlete of the Year. Curry, of course, led Team USA to a Gold Medal victory at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. In Team USA’s 6-0 run, Curry averaged a team-best 14.8 points per game on wildly-efficient .500/.478/1.000 shooting splits.
No one will be surprised to see Curry get the award. While his numbers are not overwhelming that’s partially due to head coach Steve Kerr’s decision to lean into Team USA’s deep rotation. Moreover, Curry got off to a slow start in the tournament before some unbelievable performances in the final games.
Curry had never competed in the Olympics before last summer, but he finished them extremely strong. In the semifinal and final combined, Curry scored 60 points and made 17 three-pointers, bailing Team USA out against both Serbia and France.
Twice in the final two minutes, Curry sank a shot from behind the arc that gave Team USA a nine-point lead, or a “three-possession lead” if you’re a broadcaster. But he held back from his signature “Night Night” celebration until he hit a truly ridiculous shot with 35 seconds to go finally put France behind for good.
Curry greatly enjoyed his first opportunity to participate in the Olympics, describing it as “the most surreal feeling.” It seems unlikely that he will get another chance to compete in the Olympics, given his age, but if not, he sure made a statement when he got the chance.