Team USA basketball, Steph Curry beat France for gold medal at 2024 Paris Olympics: Social media reacts

As has been the case over the better part of the past two decades, the road to a gold medal wasn’t always easy for the United States national men’s basketball team, but it ended in the same destination.

For the fifth consecutive time, Team USA took home the gold medal at the Olympics, defeating host nation France 98-87 Saturday in the championship matchup of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The gold medal was the Americans’ eighth in the past nine Olympics and 17th in the 20 Olympics in which they’ve competed.

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The most recent of those medals wasn’t always assured. After needing a furious fourth-quarter comeback to beat Serbia in the semifinals, Team USA saw what had been an 11-point fourth-quarter lead trimmed to just three after a Victor Wembanyama tip-in with 2:58 remaining.

Behind 12 points from Steph Curry in the final 2:48, all of which came from beyond the 3-point line, the Americans were not only able to hang on, but win by a more presentable margin for a legion of fans back home with high expectations for their national basketball team.

With stars like Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant playing in what’s likely their final Olympics, and all three playing starring roles in the win, the victory was a moment of celebration for Team USA fans enjoying the rare opportunity to see three of the greatest players of their generation competing together.

Here’s a sampling of the reaction on social media to Team USA’s latest accomplishment and, specifically, Curry’s heroics in helping send the gold medal back home:

Social media reacts to Steph Curry and Team USA winning the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA basketball beats France for gold medal at 2024 Paris Olympics: Social media reacts