Greatest Games of His Career

Stephen Curry

shook up the world once again during the Gold Medal Game of the 2024 Men’s Basketball

Olympics

. Curry showcased why he is the greatest showman in sports by putting on a clutch performance for the ages to secure his first Olympic Gold medal.

From his college days at Davidson, to the

NBA

with the

Golden State Warriors

, and now on the international stage in the Olympics, the superstar point guard has made a career of epic performances.

With that, here are the five greatest games of Stephen Curry’s Hall of Fame basketball career.

5

That Night in Oklahoma City

“Curry… way downtown… BANG! BANG”

Curry’s performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 27, 2016, will go down as one of his most memorable games of all time.

The game happened in the midst of the Warriors’ historic 2015-16 regular season run, where they finished with an all-time record of 73-9. Likewise, Curry was in the midst of his own historic regular season, where he won league MVP unanimously.

On that night, Curry went off for 46 points as he willed Golden State to an epic 121-118 come-from-behind overtime win over their Western Conference rivals. The Thunder led for the majority of the game.

But Curry just would not allow Golden State to lose thanks to his hot shooting all throughout. He even did all of that on a bum foot as he had a nasty ankle roll midway through the game. Curry finished with 12 three-pointers and also broke his own record for most threes in a season on that same evening.

Of course, who could forget the shot that capped off that special performance and sent the internet into a collective frenzy?

4

50-point Game 7 vs. Kings

Curry lights the beam to eliminate Sacramento

Curry and the Warriors, who were in the midst of defending their 2022 NBA title, faced a tough challenge in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs in the form of their California rivals, the

Sacramento Kings

.

The Kings had an inspirational 2022-23 regular season, where they finished as the third seed and returned to the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. But they were up against the then-defending champs, who, despite having an up-and-down regular season were still seen as the favorites.

Unfazed by the noise, Sacramento won the first two games of the series at home. But the Warriors showed their championship poise and won the next three games, including Game 5 on the road in Sacramento. Golden State, however, fumbled Game 6 and lost at Chase Center to set up a Game 7 back in Sactown.

Coming off an impressive Game 6 win, Kings fans were ready to watch their team “light the beam” and send home the reigning champs in Game 7. But Steph Curry had other plans. From the jump, it was clear he would not let the Warriors lose. He was looking for his shot early and often and there was nothing the Kings defense could do to stop him.

In the end, the four-time NBA champion delivered a historic Game 7 performance. Curry carried the Warriors on the back of a 50-point masterclass, setting a then-new NBA record for most points ever in a Game 7.

Curry showcased his entire offensive repertoire, from tough floaters, layups, and a barrage of three-pointers. He scored 30 of his 50-piece in the second half, including 16 in the fourth quarter.

As the ultimate showman, Curry lit the beam in the Kings’ own building and closed the books on Sacramento’s season with one of the greatest Game 7 performances of all time.

3

Semifinal Game vs. Serbia

Curry saves Team USA with epic performance in semis

It took a while for Curry to arrive in Paris for the Olympics. Well, he was there physically. He played in all of Team USA’s dominant wins prior to the semifinals. But his presence was barely felt, or needed, for that matter.

In the first four games of his first Olympics run, Curry had just scored 29 total points and uncharacteristically made just five of his 20 three-point shot attempts.

But when the semifinal against

Nikola Jokic

and Serbia rolled along, the two-time NBA MVP finally joined the party.

Curry started the game with a flurry. He scored 17 points in the first quarter, draining three-pointers left and right and even looking away on one of them.

But without his stellar start, the United States would have been in deep trouble. Thanks to their sizzling shooting, the Serbians had the Americans on the ropes. Serbia led by as much as 17 points and, with a 13-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, they were 10 minutes away from pulling off a monumental upset in the semifinal.

USA then locked in during the fourth quarter, where they outscored Serbia, 32-15. Curry made some clutch plays on both ends down the stretch as well. He made the go-ahead three-pointer to put USA up by one.

Then, a couple of possessions later, he had a clutch steal and converted a fastbreak layup on the other end to give USA the five-point cushion they needed to ensure the comeback win and the ticket to the Gold Medal game.

The 2024 Team USA squad would not be Olympic Gold Medalists if not for Curry’s stellar game-long performance in their semifinal game against Serbia.

2

Gold Medal Game vs. France

Curry bids France “nuit nuit” in Paris

It’s hard not to be a prisoner of the moment. But given the circumstances, what’s at stake, and what he did, especially in the clutch, Stephen Curry’s performance in the Gold Medal game in Paris 2024 deserves to be among the best games of his Hall of Fame career.

After pouring in the second-highest scoring performance in Men’s Olympic basketball just a couple of days before, Curry started off slow in the championship game. He started off missing his first three attempts from three and went scoreless in the first quarter. It wasn’t until the 4:31 mark of the second period when Curry made his first triple of the game.

From there, the greatest shooter of all time found his rhythm. Curry had four triples and 12 points entering the fourth quarter, where Team USA had a 72-66 lead.

Playing in front of a raucous home crowd at Bercy Arena, France threatened to make a comeback in the final frame. They cut the lead down to three points with under three minutes remaining. Then, Curry put on his Captain America cape.

Curry went on a flurry, draining four three-pointers within a two-minute, 11-second span. The final one was the “golden dagger” struck through the hearts of France as he pulled out his signature “night night” celebration to put the French to bed.

Thanks to his performance, Curry finally captured the one accolade missing from his mantle: an Olympic Gold Medal.

NBA fans have been used to seeing Curry go on these electric shooting stretches with the Warriors. But on Saturday night, the greatest showman in sports blessed the entire world on the Olympic stage with one of the most epic clutch performances of his illustrious career.

1

Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Finals

Curry saves Warriors from falling 3-1 vs. the Celtics

Despite his jaw-dropping performance in Paris, Stephen Curry’s epic Game 4 against the

Boston Celtics

in the 2022 NBA Finals remains his greatest game of all time. Everything was at stake for Curry in this one. All the pressure was on the shoulders of the scrawny 6-foot-3 point guard.

Golden State was down 2-1 on the road in the NBA Finals. A loss would have put them in a catastrophic 3-1 hole, a predicament only one team was able to overcome in the Finals — and Curry and the Warriors were unfortunately on the wrong end of that ordeal.

With the Warriors’ backs against the wall, Curry entered TD Garden with an aggressive mindset. He was looking to score from the jump and was already talking smack to the Celtics and their fans during the first quarter. The All-NBA guard had 19 points by half-time and then scored 14 more in the third quarter, essentially carrying his team throughout the game.

But despite his Herculean efforts, the game was still hanging in the balance in crunch time. That is until Curry took over down the stretch.

With a one-point lead with just under four minutes to go, Curry made a tough floater to add to their lead. A few possessions later, he stuck the dagger on the Celtics by draining one of his signature step-back three-pointers to give Golden State a 100-94 lead.

Curry wound up with 43 points, carrying the Warriors to a 107-97 win in Game 4 to tie the series and ultimately swing the NBA Finals momentum towards their favor.

Golden State won Game 5 at home, and sealed the championship on the road in Boston in Game 6, where Curry scored 34 points and had six three-pointers.

Seeing Curry win a fourth NBA title wasn’t on the bingo cards of the majority of NBA fans and even NBA analysts alike. Prior to the 2021-22 season, non-believers had already declared the Warriors’ dynasty to be over.

Golden State proved the naysayers wrong by winning the 2022 NBA championship, its fourth title in eight years. But that would not have happened if not for Curry’s legacy-defining Game 4 masterclass.

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