One of the inspiring things about the Olympics is it brings athletes of every sport together in one place. Take for example Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles, who met fellow gold medalist and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry at the Paris Olympics. In a recent interview with GQ Sports, the gold medalist gymnast recalls meeting one of the faces of modern basketball.
“I got to meet [Stephen] Curry, guys,” Jordan Chiles said, as shared by GQ Sports on Instagram. “He actually knew who I was. He was like, ‘Hi, I'm Steph Curry,' and I was like, ‘I know who you are bro, like come on now.' And he actually asked me, he was like, ‘Jordan, can I take a picture with you?' And I just felt so honored. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, not Steph Curry wanting to take a picture with me.' But yeah it was really cool meeting him, and he's an inspiration.”
The Warriors star shows out in Paris
Besides enjoying his time in France, Stephen Curry also showed why he was one of the best basketball players in the world during the Olympics. During their semifinal comeback vs. Serbia, the best shooter of all time erupted for 36 points to bring Team USA back from a 17-point deficit and advance to the gold medal round. Curry's 36 points is second to Carmelo Anthony's 37, the all-time Olympic record for most points in a game.
Next, in the gold medal game against France, Chef Curry scored 24 points on eight three-pointers to seal the game for the Americans. Four of these threes also came in the last three minutes, which included a heat-check heave over the outstretched arms of Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum. This performance was so otherworldly that Curry still watches highlights of the game.
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After the Olympics high, though, it's time to go back to Earth. Stephen Curry signed a one-year, $62.6-million extension with the Warriors, though it's unclear whether the team has done enough to help him compete for his fifth NBA championship. The Warriors failed to acquire Lauri Markkanen or Paul George because they refused to include young players Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski in potential deals.
Fans might think it's front office malpractice to wait for young players to become stars while their 36-year-old superstar can still compete at a championship level. Kuminga and Podziemski have shown promise last season, but their development doesn't follow Chef Curry's rapidly shrinking title window, given the level of competition in the deadly Western conference.
In this case, can we blame fans for imagining Stephen Curry and LeBron James on the same team?
