The United States team won the gold medal in men’s basketball at the Paris Olympics on Saturday. The Americans needed an incredible performance from Stephen Curry to keep the host country at bay. Curry scored 24 points on eight three-point shots, including four in the final three minutes of the game.
His final three-pointer was an iconic shot over two defenders that decided the game with 35 seconds left. It was great to see. What it wasn’t, however, was the most memorable shot in basketball history, which is exactly the argument Mike Greenberg made on Stand up on Monday morning.
Mike Greenberg calls Steph Curry’s shot, which secured the US team’s gold medal victory over France, the most memorable shot in basketball history.
“Team USA winning the gold medal was expected, so it won’t be remembered like some of the others. But… pic.twitter.com/bUmsD9kjsx
— Awful Announcement (@awfulannouncing) 12 August 2024
“It’s not just that fourth hit that’s a miracle,” Greenberg said. “He’s literally the only person on Earth for whom that’s a good image. But it’s also about the stakes. The U.S. team winning the gold medal is to be expected. So it’s not going to be remembered like some of the others. But think about the other side. Think about if we don’t win the game. Think about the reaction if the U.S. team loses that day. And that’s exactly what we would have been in danger of to a significant degree. For that reason, and the spectacular nature of that volley that capped off with the fourth hit, which again is an absolutely horrific blow for any other person in the world, I put that hit number one. I put it number one in the most memorable moments. You’ll never forget it if you saw it.”
This is the perfect argument for the most brilliant object debate. A discussion about the “most memorable shots in basketball history”, where number one is not a shot, but a moment consisting of Multiple shotsAnd it is also, quite literally, what is freshest in all of our memories. If you look up Timeliness distortion There will probably be a new definition in the dictionary because something else amazing will have happened in the meantime.
It was a great moment. It was a great shot. Everyone outside of France loved it. But if you want to see the perspective, you have to keep it on ESPN because First attemptJoe Fortenbaugh talked about Curry’s moment.
“What impact would this moment have on the outcome? … This shot: iconic. The USA will probably win this game anyway.”
—@JoeFortenbaugh about the place of Steph Curry’s last throw in the eternal history of sports 👀 pic.twitter.com/mEJpBD4j2J
— First Take (@FirstTake) 12 August 2024
“However, when you look at the overall shot rating,” Fortenbaugh said, “as we always get into the details and start evaluating these things, without that moment you have to ask yourself the question: How does that affect the outcome?”
Fortenbaugh cited Malcolm Butler’s interception and Jason Lezak’s 4×100-meter relay interception at the 2008 Olympics as examples of more significant sports moments. And why shouldn’t we reflect on the Seahawks not awarding Marshawn Lynch the win after Stephen Curry’s incredible performance?
The guys can literally just sit around, reminisce about old athletes and just have the best time.
— EM Hudson (@EMHudsonlives) 15 July 2021
It’s weird that we still dress up these discussions as serious debates. We all know it’s just an excuse to remember some people. In this case, Fortenbaugh has the edge over Greenberg. We all know deep down that what Curry did wasn’t the best we’ve ever seen, and you don’t have to pretend it is.
