Getty Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Over what has been an illustrious 14-year NBA career, there is only one thing Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry hasn’t accomplished.
Curry plans to address the solitary hole on his all-time resumé next summer as a member of Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. He announced his intentions to do so during the Dubs’ media-day press conference on Monday, October 2.
Steph Curry sounds intent on playing for Team USA in the upcoming Olympics, if it lines up. Here is his answer.
“I’ve talked some people about the opportunity and definitely, if all things stay the same, I wanna be playing,” Curry said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “It’s the one thing I haven’t done. And I also understand the opportunity for Team USA to kinda reassert [ourselves] as the dominant in the world. So I definitely wanna be there, I definitely wanna be on the team, and hopefully things line up that way where we’re all there.”
Warriors’ Draymond Green, Steve Kerr Likely to Join Steph Curry as Part of Team USA in 2024 Olympics
GettyGolden State Warriors star Draymond Green celebrates after Team USA wins the gold medal.
The “we” to whom Curry is referring includes Golden State head coach Steve Kerr, who currently serves as head coach of USA Basketball, and Warriors teammate Draymond Green. Both Kerr and Green have long histories with Team USA, while Curry will be a newcomer if health issues and other factors allow him to make his Olympic debut next summer.
Green has won gold medals with the U.S. in each of the last two Summer Olympic Games (2016, 2020). He averaged nearly 18 minutes per game in a bench role during the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Japan, per USAB.com.
Kerr’s time with USA Basketball began as a player in 1986, when the United States captured the FIBA Basketball World Cup Title in Madrid, Spain. Kerr worked as an assistant coach for Team USA under San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich before USAB managing director Grant Hill tapped Kerr to lead the team in December 2021.
“I’m incredibly honored and humbled to represent our country as the head coach for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team,” Kerr said upon accepting the position, which will be his through 2024. “It’s a thrilling opportunity and I’m excited for the challenge.”
Curry’s status as one of the NBA’s all-time greats, plus the fact that his head coach also runs Team USA, makes him a shoe-in for a roster spot next summer if he still wants one. The same is probably true for Green, considering the history of success he’s had on the international stage.
Team USA Has Work to Do After Falling Short of Podium in FIBA Basketball World Cup
Getty Team USA head coach Steve Kerr speaks with point guard Jalen Brunson during a timeout in a FIBA Basketball World Cup game against Lithuania in September 2023.
Team USA finished fourth in this summer’s FIBA Basketball World Cup in The Philippines, failing to medal after a strong start in exhibition and group play.
The U.S. was undefeated through the Group Phase before falling to Lithuania by 6 points (110-104) in the second round. Each second-round grouping in the World Cup sends two teams on to the quarterfinals, so the loss didn’t cost the United States its chance to advance.
Team USA defeated Italy to move into the Semifinal Round. However, Kerr and company fell to eventual champion Germany by 2 points and followed up that effort with a 9-point overtime loss to Canada in the 3rd-Place Game.
As per usual, the United States took something like a B-team to the World Cup. Many of the best NBA players from the top countries around the world save their energy for their day jobs and then take on a role with their respective Olympic teams every four years.
Kerr built the U.S. team to play fast and shoot well, giving up size in the process. That hurt Team USA significantly on both the defensive end and in terms of rebounding margin, which ultimately cost the United States a top-three finish.
Players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant have been rumored to have interest in playing with Team USA in France this summer alongside Curry and Green.